JUMPKUT Contemporary Ballet was founded by Price and Emma Suddarth — former Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers — as both an artistic home for contemporary ballet and a dance centered film studio. After their final bows on the stage, Price and Emma began creating a new model for ballet, one that could move quickly, take risks, and tell stories that resonate with contemporary audiences.
With Price’s background in choreography and film, JUMPKUT Contemporary Ballet was envisioned from the start as a company that creates for both stage and screen, bringing dance into conversation with other disciplines and artforms. Built on more than a decade of artistic collaboration between Price and Emma, the company reflects their shared creative vision.
What We Do
STAGE
Present contemporary ballet on stage, both new and established works, grounded in emotional clarity and technical excellence.
SCREEN
Create dance for the screen, from narrative shorts to feature films, showing locally and at major film festivals to bring dance to new places and audiences.
SUPPORT
Support emerging and established choreographers with commissions, residencies, mentorship, and creative opportunities.
COLLABORaTE
Partner across industries and disciplines — from theater companies to festivals to film studios — to reach new audiences and expand the possibilities of what dance can be.
JUMPKUT creates, cultivates, and shares bold, emotionally-driven dance stories for both stage and screen
Why?
Ballet has always been an art form in dialogue with its audience—a living exchange of movement, music, and emotion. The great classic ballets were once cutting-edge premieres created for the people of their time
At JUMPKUT, we believe in carrying that spirit forward. We honor ballet’s legacy not just by preserving steps, but by staying true to its original purpose: to connect through compelling stories, resonant themes, and striking visual presentations.
Today’s audiences deserve the same immediacy, curiosity, and emotional impact that ballet has always promised. Our work seeks to harness that energy—making space for those who have long loved dance and those who are seeing themselves in it for the very first time.
With a dual commitment to artistic excellence and community-building, we believe that contemporary ballet should be serious without being stiff, ambitious without being out of reach. High-caliber work doesn’t need to feel exclusive.
We want to welcome people who’ve felt that ballet “isn’t made for them.” By starting with what we want the audience to feel, we build work that opens doors and inspires connection. And in doing so, we bring new audiences into dance — and bring dance back to them.
But Why JUMPKUT?
From the beginning, we always dreamed of a company model that was small and nimble and responsive. JUMPKUT Contemporary Ballet is just that, a company reflecting audience and artists’ desires.
Stage + Screen
We create for both platforms, with choreography crafted specifically for the strengths of live performance and film.
Narrative-Driven
Borrowing from cinematic story structure, our ballets carry emotional clarity, momentum, and characters audiences can connect with.
Nimble + Adaptive
We keep the company lean by design, which lets us take risks, move quickly, and stay responsive to new opportunities.
Artist-Founded, Artist-Focused
With lived experience inside the art form, we’ve reimagined the production model to prioritize experimentation, authorship, and artistic integrity.
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
We integrate theater, film, design, and technology, expanding where—and how—ballet connects with the world.
Audience-Responsive
We listen, engage, and build work that speaks directly to contemporary audiences, ensuring relevance without losing craft.