An acclaimed dancer will perform with powerful partners this weekend, when the New York City-based performance company The Equus Projects brings “An Evening With Equus” to Vashon.

The Equus Projects is a nationally recognized company of dancers who create performance works with horses.

The aim of the group is to explore cross-species communication between dancers and horses and share their discoveries in site-specific and concert performances. The company has performed throughout the United States.

For the Vashon performances, the company’s artistic director, JoAnna Mendl Shaw, will return to the Pacific Northwest, where she began her career in the late 1970s. She currently teaches at the Juilliard School in New York City.

During two Island shows, Mendl Shaw will team up with Arabian horses to present a performance that she said will capture the “beauty, grace and athleticism of a unique partnership between humans and horses.” Acclaimed vocalist and cellist Jami Sieber has been tapped to accompany the dance.

“An Evening With Equus” will be performed at 6 p.m. Sunday and Monday, Aug. 9 and 10, at Heart of the Horse Farm, 21901 Vashon Hwy. S.W. Tickets, $25, must be purchased in advance at Books by the Way or the Blue Heron. Rehearsals, Aug. 5 to 7, are open to the public for $10 a day. To attend, call (718) 916-3528. The Equus Projects will host an equestrian clinic on Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 8 and 9. For information, visit www.dancingwithhorses.org.