Chicago’s Third Coast Percussion and dancer-choreographers Lil Buck and Jon Boogz (together known as Movement Art Is) began this project remotely during the COVID-19 lockdown, a time that gave a special resonance to ideas of shared human experience. The result is a groundbreaking collaboration that weaves contemporary percussion music with distinct and powerful dance styles.

Featuring music by Jlin, Tyondai Braxton, and Philip Glass, Third Coast Percussion’s dynamic score blends with the choreographers’ dance styles: Lil Buck’s fluid, balletic Memphis Jookin and Jon Boogz’ sharp, surreal popping. The percussion quartet and dancers Trent Jeray and Cameron Murphy create a stunning meditation on dualities in human nature—fluidity and rigidity, struggle and triumph, individuality and connection.

At its heart, the work dramatizes the growth, resilience, and self-expression of two young men, offering an intimate journey that is as thought-provoking as it is visually and musically compelling.