At a huge class with @CamilleABrown with Prof. Sam Anderson at @NYUADArtGallery Reading Room. Taking about earlier works like Mr. TOL E Rance and the idea of double consciousness and code-switching thru the lens of stereotypes and minstrelsy
The follow up piece, Black Girl: A Linguistic Play, looks specifically at female roles
In the newest part of the trilogy, Ink, which we’ll present on Thursday, Camille responds to the idea of the secret superheroes of Black People as they walk thru the world.
A student asks about how @CamilleABrown creates an open space where the dancers feel comfortable expressing their own unique ness. Camille has to check her own role as a leader so she doesn’t overimpose her own vision.
She wants her dancers to be able to portray certain phrases and ideas 10 different ways on stage - there’s not just one way to say something.
Student question about pressure of expectations. As a creator, you need to create your work and be comfortable that the external reaction may vary. She needs to like it and the community of origins need to like it. Self Validation is most important. Not external validation.
.@CamilleABrown is aware that there is a implicit hierarchy of styles: ballet and modern over dance footed in the African diaspora and social dance: from jazz to tap to hip-hop. Her work consciously addresses that hierarchy.
Her interest in stereotypes came from watching lots of reality tv, and becoming hyper aware of how Black women were being portrayed. She started unpacking the idea of minstrelsy and role of Masking for Black entertainers.
Activism for me is the courage to speak your voice regarding of whether or not people are with you or not. It has to start with you.- @CamilleABrown
I can’t create change until I work on myself.
“How does social dance contributing to healing of the issues faced by the African American community?” @CamilleABrown: social dance creates a spaced for enslaved Africans to use and assert their bodies. Creating space for celebration can be healing.
How can you ensure that the audience interprets the piece properly? I can’t. Dealing with lots of audiences with lots of different experiences. That’s one reason all performances are followed with Dialogues.
We can’t control the audience but we can control what we (as a dance company) do on stage
The more specific you are, the more universal the work becomes. @CamilleABrown #ink
For each dance piece she makes, @CamilleABrown has a book of research that underpin the work, and tell the story she wants to convey, and then puts the book away, to tell story.
On the revision process: it’s stressful, frustrating. The process is like life. Some days are better than others...you have to trust in your process that even if it’s not linear, there’s a reason certain material is there.
“Oh, that’s what it is”. Sometimes you discover it later.
Who’s in the room with you is also important. That’s part of leadership.
In a room...in a community...everyone is a leader. @CamilleABrown
Some of Camille’s dancers have been in her life since college and even since elementary school age. Their personal relationship precedes their professional relationship.
She also checks out their social media channels. How will they represent the company in the world.
What does dance communicate that writing cannot?
Sometimes things are so abstract, every audience member can come out with their own interpretation.
On differences between dancing solo vs in solo.
Solo can be very liberating but also very terrifying.
I’m aware of my changing body as a dancer. I may not be able to dance with the same physical virtuosity as I did at 25, but I dance with a different kind of wisdom at 39.
Honest community hopefully brings forth honest conversations. @CamilleABrown #ink this Thursday @NYUADArtsCenter
How do you know when you’re done with a piece?
When I have no more questions.
Because when I start, all I have is questions.
The premiere is not the end. It’s the beginning. Only after the piece has been touring for a year does it start finding itself.
The post show Dialogue is not about whether you like the piece or not. It’s about creating space, in a diverse audience, to share your thoughts, ideas and questions about the conversations that just took place in the performance and the room.
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