These days, Camille A. Brown is definitely one of the city’s young choreographers on the move—highly visible and prolific, quietly acquiring a solid representation as someone to watch. This week, she offers her first evening of work in two and a half years although her choreography has had some notable showcases since then. In 2007 alone, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater commissioned a work, and she gave notable solo performances at Fall for Dance and on the E-Moves series. In two weeks, her recent Those Who See Light will be performed by Philadanco at the Joyce Theater.
Brown is equally committed to dancing and choreographing now, but after graduating from North Carolina School of the Arts, she initially focused exclusively on the former, performing as a member of Ronald K. Brown/Evidence (where she continued through 2007). “A friend from college sent me a flyer about Hubbard Street II competition, and said she thought I should do it. I really wasn’t focused on choreography at that time. But I was just so moved and honored that she thought about me. So I sent them videos of a group work and a solo that I did in school. It turned out that I got it. That really started giving me the encouragement to keep going. I began getting opportunities,” the lithe Queens native explains.
One of those opportunities came when Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Ailey company, saw More Time Than Anybody, Brown’s 2006 depiction of harried New Yorkers waiting for a subway train. Jamison commissioned Brown to expand the work. That evolved into The Groove to Nobody’s Business, which the company has performed at City Center for the past two seasons, and has toured widely. It exemplifies Brown’s gift for crisp, precise characterization through movement, her sly wit and distillation of urban behavior.
Brown readily admits she often choreographs with a theatrical approach. A prime example is Matchstick, a work for four men she has set in a very specific period. “I landed on 1915 because it’s 50 years after the Civil War, and 50 years before the civil rights movement. That’s the middle point where black people are free, but there’s still a lot they have to get over, and fight for. That was the time of the Great Migration.” The dance portrays future leaders of a community during a period of social unrest and injustice. Brown cites Toni Morison’s Sula, which she happened to be reading at the time she worked on the dance, as providing an impetus, as well as her appreciation for the play 12 Angry Men. “I always loved the play, in terms of minority convincing the majority to the point where the minority is the majority. I really was inspired by that.” Matchstick features music performed live by composer Brandon McCune and percussionist Farai Malianga and J. Michael Kinsey reading poetry by Dana Gournier.
Now expanded from an earlier version, Matchstick is, at 20 minutes, one of Brown’s longest works. She favors briefer works (an area in which many choreographers could follow her lead), and notes, “This was first time I felt, I have more to say than 15 minutes! The new section makes the piece more complete.”
Brown is very much a performer as well as choreographer, and she will dance two vivid solos on the program. Mary, a premiere, pays homage to her grandmother, and is set to music by Kurt KC Clayton, who also composed the score for her Philadanco piece. The Evolution of A Secured Feminine, which riveted the audience at Fall for Dance, showcases Brown’s deft, juicy movement style, and her ability to create a character and evoke layered emotional situations.
The program also includes The New Second Line, a 2005 work inspired by the public celebrations that take to the streets in New Orleans, and a world premiere—a substantial group work that she had not yet titled at the time of a recent interview. “It’s something different for me. It’s like dance commentary, toward the side of theater and creating stories. It’s talking about things that used to happen back in the day that don’t happen anymore.”
Camille A. Brown & Dancers
June 4 through 7, Joyce Soho, 155 Mercer St. (betw. W. Houston & Prince Sts.), 212-352-3101; times vary, $18.
Brown is equally committed to dancing and choreographing now, but after graduating from North Carolina School of the Arts, she initially focused exclusively on the former, performing as a member of Ronald K. Brown/Evidence (where she continued through 2007). “A friend from college sent me a flyer about Hubbard Street II competition, and said she thought I should do it. I really wasn’t focused on choreography at that time. But I was just so moved and honored that she thought about me. So I sent them videos of a group work and a solo that I did in school. It turned out that I got it. That really started giving me the encouragement to keep going. I began getting opportunities,” the lithe Queens native explains.
One of those opportunities came when Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Ailey company, saw More Time Than Anybody, Brown’s 2006 depiction of harried New Yorkers waiting for a subway train. Jamison commissioned Brown to expand the work. That evolved into The Groove to Nobody’s Business, which the company has performed at City Center for the past two seasons, and has toured widely. It exemplifies Brown’s gift for crisp, precise characterization through movement, her sly wit and distillation of urban behavior.
Brown readily admits she often choreographs with a theatrical approach. A prime example is Matchstick, a work for four men she has set in a very specific period. “I landed on 1915 because it’s 50 years after the Civil War, and 50 years before the civil rights movement. That’s the middle point where black people are free, but there’s still a lot they have to get over, and fight for. That was the time of the Great Migration.” The dance portrays future leaders of a community during a period of social unrest and injustice. Brown cites Toni Morison’s Sula, which she happened to be reading at the time she worked on the dance, as providing an impetus, as well as her appreciation for the play 12 Angry Men. “I always loved the play, in terms of minority convincing the majority to the point where the minority is the majority. I really was inspired by that.” Matchstick features music performed live by composer Brandon McCune and percussionist Farai Malianga and J. Michael Kinsey reading poetry by Dana Gournier.
Now expanded from an earlier version, Matchstick is, at 20 minutes, one of Brown’s longest works. She favors briefer works (an area in which many choreographers could follow her lead), and notes, “This was first time I felt, I have more to say than 15 minutes! The new section makes the piece more complete.”
Brown is very much a performer as well as choreographer, and she will dance two vivid solos on the program. Mary, a premiere, pays homage to her grandmother, and is set to music by Kurt KC Clayton, who also composed the score for her Philadanco piece. The Evolution of A Secured Feminine, which riveted the audience at Fall for Dance, showcases Brown’s deft, juicy movement style, and her ability to create a character and evoke layered emotional situations.
The program also includes The New Second Line, a 2005 work inspired by the public celebrations that take to the streets in New Orleans, and a world premiere—a substantial group work that she had not yet titled at the time of a recent interview. “It’s something different for me. It’s like dance commentary, toward the side of theater and creating stories. It’s talking about things that used to happen back in the day that don’t happen anymore.”
Camille A. Brown & Dancers
June 4 through 7, Joyce Soho, 155 Mercer St. (betw. W. Houston & Prince Sts.), 212-352-3101; times vary, $18.
