BlackLight is a curated movement arts production rooted in the belief that the body can reveal what language cannot.
We bring together artists across aerial arts, pole, dance, and interdisciplinary movement, celebrating the richness of each discipline while building connections across movement communities. A shared curatorial throughline connects each performance, bringing distinct voices into a larger conversation.
Black artists are the heart of BlackLight. By creating space for artistic exchange across communities of color, we foster dialogue, discovery, and shared creative growth.
BlackLight exists to illuminate stories that have too often remained hidden in plain sight. We create performances that invite audiences to carry the stories they have witnessed into their own lived experiences.
Created in Atlanta. Shaped by the American South.
BlackLight was founded in Atlanta, and its artistic voice is shaped by the storytelling traditions of the American South. We are drawn to work that lingers. Work that asks difficult questions, embraces complexity, and trusts the body to speak with honesty.
Luxe Coleman
Founder & Executive Artistic Director
Essence "Luxe" Coleman is an interdisciplinary movement artist, producer, and curator who explores themes of identity and embodiment through visual storytelling.
As Founder and Executive Artistic Director of BlackLight, she leads the organization's artistic vision, developing each annual production around a shared throughline that brings aerial arts, pole, dance, and interdisciplinary movement into conversation. Through intentional curation, she creates experiences that illuminate the stories carried in the body while expanding opportunities for movement artists of color.
Drawing from a background in engineering alongside years of performing and teaching, Luxe approaches every production with equal attention to creative direction and technical precision.
Before founding BlackLight, Luxe spent nearly a decade leading cross-functional initiatives in the tech industry. During that time, she cultivated a longstanding commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion through employee advocacy and community leadership. She understands that building a culture of representation and belonging requires intentional leadership and sustained action. Today, those experiences continue to shape her leadership, pairing structure with artistic freedom and creating environments where artists can thrive.
Through BlackLight, she continues to cultivate a curatorial practice guided by artistic excellence, meaningful connection, and the belief that movement can change the way we see ourselves and one another.
Kanesha Petit-Phar
Marketing Director
Kanesha Petit-Phar is a marketing strategist, public relations professional, and movement artist with more than a decade of experience leading integrated marketing campaigns across healthcare, politics, education, nonprofit organizations, and the movement arts. She holds a B.S. in Public Relations and an MBA in Marketing, bringing both strategic expertise and creative vision to her work.
As both a marketer and performer, Kanesha understands the unique needs of movement artists and creative organizations. She has partnered with aerial and pole studios, cirque and burlesque productions, fitness brands, and independent movement artists to develop compelling campaigns that elevate creative voices, strengthen brands, and deepen audience engagement.
As Marketing Director for BlackLight, Kanesha shapes the organization’s public voice, ensuring its storytelling reflects the depth, artistry, and cultural significance of the work onstage. She believes BlackLight is more than a performance platform. It is a space where Black movement artists are celebrated, connected, and empowered to shape the future of the art form.
Aria Albritton
Associate Artistic Director
Aria Albritton is a racial equity non-profit professional and aerial artist who brings a deep commitment to justice into her creative practice. Drawing on several years of experience in program operations, development, and implementation, she brings a big picture perspective to artistic productions, holding both the larger vision and the smaller details that bring them to life.
As Associate Artistic Director, Aria supports the evolution of BlackLight productions, helping to shape artistic and experiential elements with intention, for both the audience and artists.
Aria values BlackLight as not only a vessel for artistic expression but as a tool for community organizing and collective power building.