This Is A Formation: Intervention – Jumatatu M. Poe With Jerome Donte Beacham
5:00 PM TO 7:00 PM
jumatatu m. poe and Jerome Donte Beacham’s Intervention is part performance, part public action designed to provoke dialogue about Black queer life in public space. Centered around J-Sette performance and culture, this work is free and open to anyone who wishes to follow it through the streets of Portland. The walking performance begins at 6pm in two groups: one will start at Indigo Arts Alliance (60 Cove Street) and one will start at Blackstones (6 Pine Street). Both will culminate at SPACE in a celebration with live DJ set by Liz Rhaney until 9pm. A second performance will take place in Lewiston on August 3rd as part of the Bates Dance Festival offerings.
Presented in partnership with the Bates Dance Festivaland Indigo Arts Alliance.
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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 his siblings and cousins. The artist’s early exposure to concert dance was through African dance and capoeira performances on California college campuses where his Pan-Africanist parents studied and worked, but he did not start “formal” dance training until college with Umfundalai, Kariamu Welsh’s contemporary African dance technique. His work continues to be influenced by various sources, including his foundations in those living rooms and parties, early technical training in contemporary African dance, continued study of contemporary dance and performance, movement trainings with dancer and anatomist Irene Dowd around anatomy and proprioception, his sociological research of and technical training in J-sette performance with Donte Beacham. Through poe’s artistic work, he 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.
Follow jumatatu on Instagram: @_move_you_
Liz Rhaney is a multimedia media artist originally from Savannah, GA. She works in video, photography, music, and installation. She is influenced by artists from many different music genres including Cher, Selena, Miles Davis, and Natacha Atlas. She moved to Portland, Maine for her MFA at the Maine College of Art.
Follow Liz on Instagram: @li_z_a_r_t
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The Bates Dance Festival is an international destination for dance located in Lewiston, Maine. BDF provides rigorous training for dancers, offers residencies for practicing dance artists, and presents performances by a renowned roster of local, national, and international dancemakers. Serving Maine, as well as a diverse community of dance audiences and arts lovers, BDF offers unprecedented access to and fosters deep appreciation for contemporary dance.
Follow Bates Dance Festival on Instagram: @batesdancefestival
