About
Writer. Director. Choreographer. Performer. Scholar.
Jehbreal Muhammad Jackson
Jehbreal Muhammad Jackson is an artist and scholar who writes, choreographs, and directs story ballets for film. As a scholar, Jehbreal researches the histories and theories of ballet, sacred dances of the African diaspora, music, and race. She uses her findings as source material for her own artistic creations. Her forthcoming dissertation research analyzes George Balanchine’s Agon in relation to the Rada and Gede rituals of Haitian Vodou. She supplements this study of Agon with an analysis of William Forsythe’s A Quiet Evening of Dance. She uses their evocation of the early modern French court, and particular blend of Afro -diasporic dances with ballet and court dances to argue for similar moments of cultural transmission at ballet’s origins. Jehbreal argues that the geometric dances of the court and classical ballet technique itself, are not just a product of the early modern European court, but rather of several cultural influences, including those from the African continent.
Jehbreal danced with Dance Theater of Harlem before freelancing in New York, Mexico, and Europe. She is also a vocalist featured on Samora Pinderhughes' Transformations Suite, Grief, and Venus Smiles Not in the House of Tears albums (touring nationally and internationally) after having also performed with Jon Batiste and Kris Bowers. Jehbreal received a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School, an MFA in dance from UC Irvine, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Theater and Performance studies at Columbia University.