NEW LONDON — The Ronald K. Brown/ EVIDENCE, A DANCE COMPANY will perform at Connecticut College next week as part of the college’s 2022-23 onStage Guest Artist Series.
Founded by Ronald K. Brown in 1985 and based in Brooklyn, EVIDENCE, A DANCE COMPANY focuses on the fusion of African dance with contemporary choreography and spoken word.
Brown, the recipient of the 2020 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, has been awarded the AUDELCO Award for his choreography in Regina Taylor’s award-winning play “Crowns,” received two Black Theater Alliance Awards and a Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreography in the Tony Award-winning Broadway and national touring production of “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” which was directed by Diane Paulus.
The mission of EVIDENCE, according to the website, “is to promote understanding of the human experience in the African Diaspora through dance and storytelling and to provide sensory connections to history and tradition through music, movement, and spoken word, leading deeper into issues of spirituality, community responsibility and liberation.”
“The work provides a unique view of human struggles, tragedies, and triumphs,” according to a statement from the college. “Brown uses movement as a way to reinforce the importance of community in African American culture and to acquaint audiences with the beauty of African forms and rhythms.”
The performance at Connecticut College follows a critically acclaimed run at New York City’s Joyce Theater. The company will reprise the program from the New York engagement for the Connecticut College performance, which includes Brown’s newest work, “The Equality of Night and Day,” along with two works Brown originally choreographed for the Alvin Alley Company, “Open Door” and “Grace.”
— Nancy Burns-Fusaro
