Camille A. Brown & Dancers BLACK GIRL
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Friday and Saturday, December 8–9, 2017, 8pm Sunday, December 10, 2017, 3pm Zellerbach Playhouse Camille A. Brown & Dancers BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play (2015) Directed and Choreographed by Camille A. Brown in collaboration with the women of CABD Performers Beatrice Capote, Kendra ‘Vie Boheme’ Dennard, Catherine Foster, Mayte Natalio, and Camille A. Brown Scott Patterson, piano Robin Bramlett, electric bass Music Original compositions “Back in the Day,” “All Grownt Up,” and “Beautiful Memories” by Scott Patterson “Jump!,” “She Fast,” and “Tender” by Tracy Wormworth “Everything in its Right Place” by Radiohead – Rendition by Scott Patterson and Tracy Wormworth Handclap/Nursery Rhymes “Miss Mary Mack,” “Miss Susie Had a Steamboat,” and “Green Sally” Robert McIntyre, production stage manager Daniel Banks, Kamilah Forbes, and Talvin Wilks, dramaturgs Burke Wilmore, lighting design Sam Crawford, sound design Elizabeth C. Nelson, set design Zulema Griffin, Carolyn Meckha Cherry, Mayte Natalio, and Catherine Foster, costume design contributors Shaune Johnson and Marshall Davis, tap coaches Cal Performances’ 2017–18 season is sponsored by Wells Fargo. PROGRAM NOTES Camille A. Brown & Dancers word “play” immediately shot out. I started Recognized for its introspective approach to thinking about my childhood and the many cultural themes through visceral movement games I used to play—Double Dutch, Red Light/ and socio-political dialogues, Camille A. Brown Green Light, Marco Polo—and how it was hard & Dancers soars through history like a whirl - for me to find narratives within the media that wind. Known for high theatricality, gutsy moves, showcased black girls being just that: girls. and virtuosic musicality, the company’s work This instantly resonated and became personal. explores a range of themes with an eye on the Who was I before the world defined me? What past and present. Making a personal claim on are the unspoken languages within black-girl his tory, Camille A. Brown leads her dancers culture that are multidimensional and have through excavations of ancestral stories, both been appropriated and compart mental ized by timeless and traditional, as well as immediate others? What are the dimensions of black-girl contemporary issues. The work is strongly joy that cannot be boxed into a smile or a character-based, expressing each choreographic grimace, but demonstrated in a head tilt, lip topic by building from little moments to model smack, hand gesture, and more? a filmic sensibility. Theater, poetry, visual art, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play showcases and and music of all genres merge to inject each per - elevates the rhythms and gestures of childhood formance with energy and urgency. For more play, highlights the musical complexity and information, visit www.camilleabrown.org. composition, and claims them as art. It shows the power of sisterhood and the fact that, as we Choreographer’s Note mature, black girls still play. It is remembering, BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play celebrates the conjuring, honoring, and healing. It is a black unspoken rhythm and language that black girls girl’s story through her gaze. This work is a gift have through Double Dutch, social dances, and to myself and black girls everywhere. hand-clapping games that are contemporary If our audiences see parts of themselves and ancestral. As I began to create the work, in our work—their struggles and their joys— I realized that I was exhausted by stereotypes regardless of their color, gender, or socio - and tropes because, as a black female director, economic background, then I know we have I battle with them daily. done our job. Kyra Gaunt’s book, The Games Black Girls Let’s play! Play, inspired the concept for the work. The —Camille A. Brown The creation and presentation of BLACK GIRL: dation for Dance; and a 2014 New York City Center Linguistic Play is supported by the New England Cho reography Fellowship. Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project with lead funding provided by the Doris Duke Charitable BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play was commissioned Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, by DANCE Cleve land through a 2014 Joyce Award with additional support from the Com munity Con - from the Joyce Founda tion, the Clarice Smith Per - nections Fund of the MetLife Founda tion and the forming Arts Center at the University of Maryland, National Endowment for the Arts. Major support Juniata Pre sents, and Juniata College. It was de - for this new work also comes from the MAP Fund, veloped, in part, during a residency at Baryshnikov primarily supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Arts Cen ter, New York, awarded through the Foundation with additional funds from the Andrew Princess Grace Founda tion–USA Works in Progress W. Mellon Foundation; Engaging Dance Audiences, resi dency program; a creative residency at The Yard, administered by Dance/USA and made possible the Flynn Center, and the Wesleyan Center for the with generous funding from the Doris Duke Chari - Arts; a technical resi dency at Juniata College in table Foun dation; a Jerome Foundation 50th Anni - Hunting ton, PA; a resi den cy at New York City ver sary Grant; New York State Council on the Arts Cen ter; and a residency at Newcomb Dance Pro - with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and gram, Tulane University De part ment of Theatre the New York State Legislature; Hark ness Foun - and Dance. Opposite: Beatrice Capote in BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play. Photo by Christopher Duggan. ABOUT THE ARTISTS Camille A. Brown (per - Social Dance in 25 Moves, was chosen as one of former) is a prolific cho - the most notable talks of 2016 by TED Curator reographer making a Chris Anderson, and has more than 15 million personal claim on his - views on Facebook. tory through the lens of Brown is the choreographer for the current a modern black female Broadway revival of Once on This Island, which perspective. She leads opened on Broadway on December 3. her dancers through www.camilleabrown.org ex cavations of ancestral stories, both timeless and traditional, that Beatrice Capote (performer) began her dance connect history with contemporary culture. training at Amaryllis Dance Academy, and con - Brown is a 2017 Ford Foundation Art of Change tinued at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Fel low, four-time Princess Grace Award winner Center, where she was chosen to perform (2016 Statue Award, 2016 Choreographic Men - “Wade in the Water” from Alvin Ailey’s Revela - torship Co-Commission Award, 2013 Works in tions. She was also featured in the book Attitude. Progress Residency Award, 2006 Choreography Capote has performed with companies and Award), 2016 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award re - choreogra phers including INSPIRIT, a dance cipient, 2016 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, com pany; Maverick Dance Experience; the 2015 USA Jay Franke & David Herro Fellow, Wells Perfor mance Project; Areytos Perfor - 2015 TED Fellow, and 2015 Doris Duke Artist mance Works; Earl Mosley; Matthew Rushing; Award recipient, and she was nominated for the Antonio Brown; and Kyle Abraham/Abra - 2015 Lucille Lortel Outstanding Choreogra pher ham.In.Motion. She has received a grant from Award (for Fortress of Solitude). Her com pany, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and Camille A. Brown & Dancers, received a 2014 has choreographed and performed her solo “Bessie” Award for Outstanding Produc tion for work in venues including the WestFest Dance the work Mr. TOL E. RAncE and most recently Festival, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance was nominated for a 2016 “Bessie” Award for (BAAD), and Pregones Theatre. Capote is a Outstanding Production for BLACK GIRL: graduate of the University of North Carolina Linguistic Play. School of the Arts and Montclair State Univer - Brown’s work has been commissioned by the sity. Currently, she is on the faculty at the Alvin Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Phila - Ailey School, Joffrey Ballet School, and Mont - danco!, Complexions, and Urban Bush Wo - clair State University. She originally worked men, among others. Her theater credits include with the company in 2008 and rejoined in 2014. Broadway’s A Streetcar Named Desire, Fortress of Solitude, Stagger Lee, Cabin in the Sky, Jon - Kendra ‘Vie Boheme’ Dennard (performer) athan Larson’s tick, tick...BOOM! starring Lin was born in Motown, developed her skills in Manuel Miranda, and the musical BELLA: An Pittsburgh, and refined them in Minneapolis. American Tall Tale, among others. Recently, She is a former dance artist with TU Dance in Brown premiered her new work, ink, the final Saint Paul, Minnesota; a founding member of installation of the company’s dance-theater the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble; trilogy about culture, race, and identity. and a soul, funk, and jazz vocalist and cho - Initiatives: The Gathering; BLACK GIRL reographer of her own solo dance work. Den - SPECTRUM (BGS). Publication: Cover of Dance nard is also a Vinyasa yoga instructor. She was Teacher magazine (August 2015). Program: Co- trained at Point Park University’s Con servatory directed (with Moncell Durden) Social Dances: of Performing Arts (Pittsburgh, PA) and the Jazz to Hip-Hop at Jacob’s Pillow in 2015. Public Ailey School (NYC). Over the course of her Speaker: 2015 TED Conference, 2016 TEDx - career, she has performed the works of Kyle BeaconStreet, 2016 TEDxEsteeLauder Compa - Abraham, Camille A. Brown, Dwight Rhoden, nies. Brown’s TED-Ed talk, A Visual History of Gregory Dolbashian, Uri Sands, Dar rell Grand PLAYBILL ABOUT THE ARTISTS Moultrie, and Sidra Bell. This is her first season Tribune-Review for his virtuosic singing style. with Camille A. Brown & Dancers. His music is a rich and emotive blend of clas - sical, soul, and rock. The recording Scott Pat - Catherine Foster (performer) is from Washing - terson Piano Music (available at at cdbaby.-com / ton, DC. Training: DC Youth Ensemble, Balti - cd/ scott patterson) features Patterson’s award- more School for the Arts, Alvin Ailey American winning compositions for Camille A.