A work in process performance by Bessie Award Winner, dancer, choreographer, educator, and Tradition-bearer of Black American Social Dance, LaTasha Barnes. Programmed as part of LaTasha Barnes’ residency at The Church, the performance is a work in process presentation of Barnes’ most recent project, The Jazz Continuum, which will premiere at the Joyce Theatre in Fall 22.

 

The Jazz Continuum centers the prolific artistry of Jazz music and dance as a cornerstone of Black American dance forms. Through this project, LaTasha Barnes and her cast of masterful dancers and musicians embody, amplify, and showcase the power of Jazz dance and Lindy Hop to their personal dance journeys and the artform as a global phenomenon. Barnes reaches back nearly 100 years, making the connection between the dances that sprang from America’s Black jazz music to today’s house and hip-hop dance vernacular. Each performer embodies their personal dance and music journeys, investigating the energetic and generative relationships within Jazz and Lindy Hop as they share their imaginings of its reapplication.

 

The Jazz Continuum Residency at The Church was generously supported by funding from Sara R. Throne, Treasurer of The SHS Foundation, the Sag Harbor Partnership, and the support of Guild Hall of East Hampton.