Grounded in ideas of Black autonomy, spatial identity and embodied resistance, Griffin’s research considers the Black body as both a living repository of history and a force for change.
Tristian Griffin, MFA '26: Documenting Ancestry Through Movement
Tristian Griffin came to the Master of Fine Arts in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis (MFAEIP) program for its interdisciplinary focus and the opportunity to extend his choreographic practice through Duke’s broader academic resources. He will graduate in May with an M.F.A., as well as a graduate certificate in African and African American Studies.
“The ability to engage beyond the studio, integrate Black studies into my research and thesis, while also being guided by the insights of exceptional faculty — those are the primary reasons I came to Duke,” he shares.
Griffin arrived with an already distinct choreographic voice. After earning degrees in ballet and English from Texas Christian University, he went on to work with companies including Garth Fagan Dance, Springboard Danse Montréal and the Metropolitan Opera House before founding the Tristian Griffin Dance Company.
