Ballet Coast To Coast, Jumatatu M. Poe and Jermone Donte Beacham Perform in Final On-Site Week of Dance Festival

After more than a year of isolation with various forms of virtual and socially distant performances, dancers from three major ballet companies from across the United States will take the stage together in Ballet Coast to Coast at Jacob's Pillow. Leading artists from Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet will perform on the Henry J. Leir Stage from Aug. 25-29 in this Pillow-exclusive event. This engagement is made possible by a gift from Jeffrey Davis and Michael Miller with additional support from Sylvia T. Pope.

Also this week, jumatatu m. poe and collaborator Jermone Donte Beacham distill a decade of research on J-Sette performance, a high step march popularized by the women's majorette teams at historically Black colleges in the southern United States and Black queer femme men at southern Black gay clubs. In an amalgam of the performance and complexities of Black joy, poe and Beacham investigate rhythm, pattern, and attention in this iteration of the ongoing series Let 'im Move You.

On Sunday, Aug. 29 at 10 a.m., dancers from each ballet company performing in Ballet Coast to Coast will lead a Sunday Workshop for intermediate/advanced dancers. That same day, PillowTalk: Ballet Coast to Coast will offer a discussion mirroring the current performance program, recounting the 20th-century evolution of regional ballet and recent developments in the field. Online this week are the digital premieres of LaTasha Barnes presents The Jazz Continuum on Thurs., Aug. 26 at 7:30 p.m. and PillowTalk: The History of Jazz Dance on Friday, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m.

"Ballet Coast to Coast is an exceptional opportunity to see some of the finest dancers from premier American companies present a rich program of works by Pickett, Peck, Welch, and Dove, culminating in a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see them perform together in a glorious work by Alejandro Cerrudo with music by Arvo Pärt," said Jacob's Pillow Executive & Artistic Director, Pamela Tatge. "Also this week, we are delighted to have an alum of The School, jumatatu m. poe, along with Jermone Donte Beacham, who will be making their Pillow debut."

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