Co-presented with Jacob’s Pillow. Initially developed at MASS MoCA in 2021, Maxine Lyle’s new work STEP SHOW: THE MUSICAL is a two-act theatrical production, currently in progress, that showcases African American step dance and its role in Black college life. Infusing body percussion with hip-hop, R&B, and soul, this intergenerational coming-of-age story takes a riveting ride through the world of step dance and its imprint on Black culture. The characters usher the audience into the atmosphere of a traditional step show, inviting them to join in raucous verbal and rhythmic call and responses and tune their ears to heavy, bass-driven beats. STEP SHOW considers the stakes for self and community when the transference of a powerful oral and physical lineage is lost or interrupted in Black bodies and Black spaces. See this new work while still in development this fall.