Beyond the Stardust Brings Afrofuturist Club Culture to The Flea

Transforming The Flea into a Cosmic Church

For clubgoers, the dance floor centers on exchanging energy alongside individuals who discover liberation through a shared beat. The Flea theater artistic director Niegel Smith and the musicians The Illustrious Blacks—comprising Monstah Black and Black!, who are married—strive to bring that exact feeling to Beyond the Stardust. Running from September 10 to October 18, the live-album experience at The Flea in New York City immerses participants in Afrofuturist dance-floor culture. Andrew Raposo.

When outside forces threaten the sanctuary of the Stardust Club located at The Flea, the pair arrive as celestial icons, descending to Earth to help restore the happiness of the dance floor. “Inside this club is a place where you’re meant to be liberated as your full self, as a queer person, as a person of color, as whoever you are,” says Smith, who is directing and choreographing the experience.

Intergalactic Architecture and Immersive Design

The performance begins the moment guests step inside the building. Attendees enter through an elevator and staircase shimmering with intergalactic decor. The upstairs lobby features a bar and glam station positioned just outside the main theater space. Inside the performance venue, two stages on opposite walls host the musical acts, while attendees act as active participants dancing on the floor throughout the show. Organizers have also included Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) seating to ensure accessibility.

Smith notes he faced a distinct creative challenge: bringing the club into the theater rather than turning the theater into a club. To maintain the illusion, he keeps the audience’s attention moving continuously so the energy never falters. “At the club, you’re being offered a space to go deeper with yourself with the music, to go deeper with your people beside you,” Smith explains.

Before launching the New York residency, The Illustrious Blacks tested their material at Honcho Campout, a multiday queer music festival in Artemas, Pennsylvania. During their set, the duo recognized that blending the club atmosphere with the spirituality and soul of house music “felt like a religious experience,” according to Black!.

Protecting the Sanctity of Club Culture Against Pop Conformity

Within the narrative of Beyond the Stardust, the outside world disrupts the sanctity of club culture in the form of pop music, which serves as a symbol of conformity. “Not that all pop is bad, but in this context, it’s about questioning what’s being fed to you, and being authentic about what it is you like, what you need for your spirit, your soul, your mind, your body,” Black! notes.

To honor the historical roots of this art form, the venue’s walls are covered in names and quotes from queer and trans ancestors of color who are pivotal to The Illustrious Blacks’ work. These figures include Audre Lorde and O’Shae Sibley, the Black dancer killed in a hate crime in 2023. These voices form the core of the creative duo’s relationship to house music.

“Monstah and I met in a club dancing, and so house music and dance music mean a great deal to us,” Black! says. “It is our church. Welcome to the cosmic church.”