QUEER|ART|PRIZE 2019 RECENT WORK FINALIST
LET ‘IM MOVE YOU: THIS IS A FORMATION (2019)
BY jumatatu m. poe & jermone donte beacham
Jumatatu m. poe & jermone donte beacham
Jermone Donte Beacham
jumatatu m. poe
jumatatu m. poe is a choreographer and performer based between Philadelphia and New York City who grew up dancing around the living room and at parties with siblings and cousins. poe strives to engage in and further dialogues with Black queer folks, create lovingly agitating performance work that recognizes history as only one option for the contextualization of the present, and continue to imagine options for artists’ economic and emotional sustainability. poe has performed in various cities around the U.S. and in Europe, and has received various awards including: a 2010-2011 Live Arts Brewery Fellowship (Philadelphia), 2010-2012 and 2017 annual Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Performance Grants, a 2011-2013 Community Education Center Residency Fellowship (Philadelphia), a 2012 Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship (Philadelphia), a 2016 18th Street Arts Center creative residency (Santa Monica), a 2017 Sacatar Residency Fellowship (Bahia, Brazil), a 2017 MAP Fund award with Jermone Donte Beacham, a 2017 NEFA National Dance Project Production Grant with Jermone Donte Beacham, a 2018 MANCC residency, three Swarthmore College Cooper Foundation grants for presenting other artists (Swarthmore, PA).
Jermone Donte Beacham began dancing hip hop in high school, and was later introduced to the world of J-Sette by women. J-Sette historically refers to Jackson State University’s female drill team that began in the 1970s. Beacham “created” the dance style, and thus far have made it a distinctive form of dance. Beacham was interested in this type of dance, but not entirely until seeing a group of males performing it. Currently, Beacham has established a J-Sette line, Mystic Force. Previously, Beacham served as co-captain of Dallas’ Texas Teasers and performed in several events and competitions, including 2 SetteItOff video challenges, Atlanta Pride 2010, Tennessee Classics 2009, and Memphis Pride 2008.
Image courtesy of the artists
LET ‘IM MOVE YOU: THIS IS A FORMATION (2019)
This is a move. This is a deep spinal curve on top of a high booty. This is a game, and the rhythm is key. This is luminous black and smooth brown and hard yellow skin tones. This is an alien, and that is a fairy. This is a movement; we did not start it. This is a stomp through the floor, and a buck across the universe. This is an invitation for you to amplify the respect, curiosity, and love you find in our shared space. This is exquisitely normal. This is so queer, it’s inside out. This is a show for the family, with nudity and sexual themes. This is rigorous beauty. This is a formation.
THIS IS A FORMATION is the latest project in the LET ‘IM MOVE YOU series and is a performance work being designed to tour to sidewalk and alleyway sites within historically Black neighborhoods, institutional art spaces, and queer niteclub spaces. The project is the only larger group project in the current series, bringing together 7 Black dancers, a DJ, and a lighting designer as performers for the work. Audiences travel within performance spaces with relative freedom, sharing the same spaces as performers. Live captured video design elements will focus on close-up capture of the performers to reference both hyper-surveillance of Black people’s bodies, and pop-star scale megalomania.
Image courtesy of the artists
Image courtesy of the artists
Project Credits
artistic direction by jumatatu m. poe
choreography and styling by jumatatu m. poe and Jermone Donte Beacham
performance by Jermone Donte Beacham, jumatatu m. poe, LaKendrick Davis, Maria Bauman-Morales, Nikolai McKenzie, Sanchel Brown, William Robinson
sound, text and vocal compositions by jumatatu m. poe
sound design and DJ performance by Zen Jefferson
video installation by Mx. Oops
lighting design and technical direction by Juan “Coel” Rodriguez
panel design and costume consultation by Precious Lovell
provocation by Thomas F. DeFrantz
ethical artistry guidance by Shani Akilah; additional workshop support from Abdul-Aliy Muhammad
conversation* moderation and commissioned writing** by Jasmine Johnson
conversation* participation by Deborah Smith, Evelyn Davis-Poe, Zizwe Poe
producing and tour management by Marýa Wethers
website design and project marketing management by PURPOSE Productions – website: Denise Shu Mei; digital marketing: Matthew Dicken and Melanie Greene
marketing and archival images by Tayarisha Poe
performance video documentation by Darren Wallace
series logo by khaleel ( @khaleelartt )
project zine design by Danae Mobley
text translation by Nefertiti Charlene, simon courchel
Main image for Let ‘im Move You: This is a formation