List of Questions
At the request of The Dancer-Citizen editors, the collaborators of Let ‘im Move You: Intervention, Jumatatu Poe (director/choreographer), William Robinson (dancer) and Jermone Donte Beacham (assistant choreographer), convened via video chat to discuss their work. We sent them a list of questions with the instructions to use some or all of them at their discretion to generate discussion about their process and experiences.
Their conversation is offered in three segments below:
Part 1: Intervention Origins, High Stakes, and Audience Dissent
We are introduced to the collaborators as they discuss the origins of the work and describe surprises and discomforts they experienced while performing. The intervention site in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of 52nd Street and Baltimore Avenue was a literal and metaphorical intersection where intentional and unintentional audiences witnessed/created tensions around gentrification, gender identity, and perceptions of homophobia within the Black community.
Part 2: The Fear, the Might, and Building Community
Jumatatu expounds on his desire to build and/or tap into a ‘community of interest,’ and the framing of creative practice as conversation within that community. He and William discuss tensions, stakes, and implications of the intervention site, and the ensuing fear, confusion, and triumph they experienced as a result of the performance.
Part 3: J’Sette Identity Tensions and Plans for Future Interventions
The collaborators discuss how they are situated within the gay male J’sette community and share their perspectives on the conflicts of feminine/masculine affect, re/presentation, and community participation and belonging.
The segment concludes with a discussion around the future direction of their J’sette-based research - envisioning ongoing structured interventions as a mode of multilayered inquiry of “rules,” joy, environment, musicality, and how to acknowledge/contain/maximize sexual arousal embedded within audience/performer exchanges.