"Whoever picks up on that word and is interested will find my art," she said.
Byrd said that such categories can be dangerous.
"In dancing, categories work against you," he said. "It's not about the artistry or the art, it's about the category of black. It becomes a very limiting methodology in terms of what people present."
The artists also debated whether public events like the death of Amadou Diallo in New York affect their work.
The festival's program included a tribute to Diallo, a black immigrant who was shot by four white police officers.
"I don't think you create [art] in a public atmosphere," Williams said. "In my experience, it's very solitary."
But Chin said that it is very difficult to separate her art from the politics of society.
"Everything I do is very aware [that] I'm a black woman living in a white country," Chin said.
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