ArtPower at UC San Diego presents performing arts that engage, energize, and transform the diverse cultural life of the university and San Diego. Through vibrant, challenging, multi-disciplinary performances, ArtPower seeks to develop more empathetic students and community members who are better prepared to engage in the world around them through their participation in highquality artistic, educational, and engagement programs that broaden thinking and awareness, deepen understanding, and encourage new dialogues across UC San Diego and the community. OUR IMPACT • ArtPower brings artists from around the world into UC San Diego classrooms • ArtPower provides students with free artist master classes • ArtPower integrates artist-led discussions into on-campus curricula.
Dance /USA ArtPower presents
Ronald K. Brown\ EVIDENCE March 2, 2022 at 8 pm Balboa Theatre Please stay for the postperformance ArtTalk with the artists.
PROGRAM UPSIDE DOWN (1998)
Choreography: Ronald K. Brown Music: Oumou Sangare and Wunmi Olaiya Original Lighting: Brenda Gray Lighting Re-Creation: Tsubasa Kamei Costumes: Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya Performance: The Company Upside Down begins with the premonition of community mourning. The dance continues as a race that reflects the impetus that drives the individual towards their destiny. The dance uses the loss of a community member as a rite and calls for solidarity. The ascension and passing on of one soul is also used as an image to reflect that the destiny is to the self. Upside Down is an excerpt from the evening length work Destiny. The full evening work was created in collaboration with Rokiya Kone of the Ivory Coast and her company Jeune Ballet d’ Afrique Noire and premiered at Aaron Davis Hall in June 1998. The development and creation of Destiny received support from Africa Exchange (Baraka Sele & Mikki Shepard), the Rockefeller Multi-Arts Projects and Production Fund, the Aaron Davis Hall Fund for New Work and EVIDENCE/Circle of Friends. Support for the re-creation of Upside Down costumes made possible by Peg Alston and Willis Burton, Judy Byrd-Blaylock, Dwayne Ashley, Darrel and Carmen Gay, Bruce Gordon and Tawana Tibbs, Joanne E. Hill, Bernard H. Jackson and Joyce Mullins-Jackson, Terry McMillan, and W. Omar Karriem. - PAUSE -
Special Thanks: Sponsors: Phyllis and Daniel Epstein Dance
3
THE EQUALITY OF NIGHT AND DAY: FIRST GLIMPSE Choreography: Ronald K. Brown Original Music: Jason Moran Spoken Work / Speeches: Angela Davis Scenery and Lighting: Tsubasa Kamei Costumes: Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya Costume Construction: L'atelier Raif Performance: The Company The Equality of Night and Day is a work still in creation by Brown, examining the concepts of balance and equity, in our history as well as in the current political climate as it affects young people, women, and people of color today. The Equality of Night and Day is made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This work has been commissioned by UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance and Global Arts Live, a not for profit presenting organization located in Cambridge, MA, with additional commissioning funds provided by the O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation and was created in part during creative development residencies at LUMBERYARD and Center of Creative Arts (COCA) made possible by major support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a residency at the Pillow Lab at Jacob’s Pillow. EVIDENCE will have an additional creative development residency at the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography (MANCC) at Florida State University in 2022. - INTERMISSION -
4
Program
GRACE
(1999/2003) Choreography: Ronald K. Brown Original Lighting for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: William H. Grant Original Lighting for EVIDENCE: Brenda Gray Lighting Re-creation: Tsubasa Kamei Costumes: Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya Performance: The Company Music Credits: “Come Sunday “ Composed by Duke Ellington Recorded by Jimmy McPhail “Gabriel” Roy Davis Jr. & Peven Everett Licensed from Large Music LLC 1996 All Rights Reserved “Bless It” & “Rock Shock” Composed by Roy Davis Jr. Roy Davis Jr. Music Roy Davis Jr. / Undaground Therapy Muzik "Shakara" Composed by Fela Kuti “Come Sunday “ Composed by Duke Ellington Recorded by Jennifer Holliday Grace was originally choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1999. Grace became a part of the EVIDENCE repertory in 2003.
Dance
5
Artistic Director Ronald K. Brown Associate Artistic Director Arcell Cabuag Dancers Demetrius Burns, Stephanie Chronopoulos, Austin Warren Coats, Joyce Edwards, Breana Moore, Christopher Salango, Shaylin D. Watson Guest Artists Shayla Alayre Caldwell, Daniel S. Harder, & Randall Riley Rehearsal Directors Demetrius Burns Shayla Alayre Caldwell
Assistant Rehearsal Director Joyce Edwards
Costumer Designer Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya
Technical Director/Resident Lighting Designer Tsubasa Kamei
Senior Advisor Pamela M. Green
Company Manager Meghan Rose Murphy
About the Company Founded by Ronald K. Brown in 1985 and based in Brooklyn, New York, EVIDENCE, A DANCE COMPANY, integrates African dance with contemporary choreography, music, and spoken word. Through its work, the company provides a unique view of human struggles, tragedies, and triumphs. 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 dance forms and rhythms. EVIDENCE tours to 30 communities in the United States annually, and has traveled to Cuba, Brazil, England, France, Greece, Hungary, Hawaii, Ireland, Holland, Mexico, Columbia, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, and the United Kingdom to perform and teach. EVIDENCE is a dance company in demand, not only for the work presented on stage, but also for the company's dance workshops, community classes, and master classes provided for dancers of all ages and levels of dance experience. Annually, the company reaches an audience of more than 30,000. EVIDENCE works in partnership with the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation, The Billie Holiday Theatre, and The Joyce Theater.
EVIDENCE, A DANCE COMPANY 1368 Fulton Street Brooklyn, NY 11216 Tel: 347-493-2414 Email: info@evidencedance.com www.evidencedance.com BOOKING AGENTS PMG ARTS MANAGEMENT Agent for engagement Pamela M. Green PO Box. 52346, Durham, NC 27717 Tel: 919-813-6092, Fax: 919-908-8200 Email: pam@pmgartsmgt.com www.pmgartsmgt.com
LOTUS ARTS MANAGEMENT Sophie Myrtil-McCourty 72-11 Austin Street #371 Forest Hills, NY 11375 Tel: 347-721-8724 Email: sophie@lotusartsmgmt.com www.lotusartsmgmt.com
About the Artists Ronald K. Brown (Founder/Artistic Director) raised in Brooklyn, NY, founded EVIDENCE, A Dance Company in 1985. He has worked with Mary Anthony Dance Theater, Jennifer Muller/The Works, as well as other choreographers and artists, and has been on the faculty of The Juilliard School. Brown has set works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Jeune Ballet d’Afrique Noire, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Philadanco, Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago, Ballet Hispánico, TU Dance, and Malpaso Dance Company. He has collaborated with such artists as composer/designer Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya, the late writer Craig G. Harris, director Ernie McClintock’s Jazz Actors Theater, choreographers Patricia Hoffbauer and Rokiya Kone, composers Robert Een, Oliver Lake, Bernadette Speech, David Simons, and Don Meissner, and musicians Jason Moran, Arturo O'Farrill and Meshell Ndegeocello. Brown is the recipient of the 2020 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. His other awards and recognitions include the AUDELCO Award for his choreography in Regina Taylor’s awardwinning play Crowns, 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 Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, adapted by Suzan Lori Parks, arranged by Diedre Murray, and directed by Diane Paulus. Brown was named Def Dance Jam Workshop 2000 Mentor of the Year and has received a Doris Duke Artist Award, New York City Center Fellowship, Joyce Theater Artist Residency Center Fellowship, Scripps/ADF Award, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Choreographers Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, United States Artists Fellowship, a New York Dance Dance
7
and Performance “Bessie” Award, Dance Magazine Award, and The Ailey Apex Award. Ronald K. Brown is a Creative Administration Research artist at NCCAkron. Brown is Co-Artistic Director of the Billie Holiday Theatre Youth Arts Academy and a member of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society. Arcell Cabuag (Associate Artistic Director/Dancer) is a firstgeneration Filipino American who is a native of San Jose, CA. In 1995, he moved to New York and attended the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center where he was first introduced to Ronald K. Brown. His professional experiences include: Rock the House for Paramount Pictures (California), The Shoji Tabuchi Show (Branson, MO), and the Richard Rodgers Centennial Production of The King and I. Arcell can be seen in the episode "Choreographed" on Law and Order SVU, and a Codorniu commercial with PILOBOLUS, shot and aired in Barcelona. He has served his community as dance professor at Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus), the Director of Education at the Billie Holiday Theatre Youth Arts Academy, and continues to teach master classes locally and abroad. Cabuag has also set EVIDENCE repertory at NYU TISCH, UMASS, Boston Arts Academy, the Peridance Certificate Program, The Ailey Fordham B.F.A. Program, University of the Arts, Kent State, DeSales University, Coker College, Marymount Manhattan College, and Boston Conservatory. Cabuag has assisted Brown in creating repertory on Philadanco Dance Company, MUNTU, TU Dance, Ballet Hispánico, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Malpaso Dance Company of Havana, Cuba, and was the associate choreographer for the Tony Award winning Broadway and National touring production of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Arcell was the first EVIDENCE apprentice in 1996, joined the company in 1997, was appointed to be the Associate Artistic Director in 2003 and won a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award in 2004. Demetrius Burns (Rehearsal Director/Dancer) was born in Anniston, AL, and grew up in Boston, MA. He received his BFA with an emphasis in Choreography from the Boston Conservatory where he choreographed Urinetown in the musical theatre department. While at Boston Conservatory he performed repertoire by Karole Armitage, Uri Sands, Mark Morris, Darrel Moultrie and many more. He spent several summers at the Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts (EMIA) as a student, intern, and dance instructor. Demetrius attended the Bates Dance Festival, Sidra Bell Modules, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Winter Intensive. He also attended Jacob’s Pillow Social dance program with the American Dance Guild Scholarship under the direction of Camille A. Brown and Moncell Durden, and returned the following summer for the Improvisation Traditions and Innovation program under the direction of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Demetrius is a recipient of the EVIDENCE, A Dance Company Beth Young Scholarship and is celebrating his sixth season with EVIDENCE. He recently received his M.F.A. in Dance from Hollins University. 8
Program
Shayla Alayre Caldwell (Rehearsal Director / Guest Artist) is a native of New Haven, Connecticut. She began dancing at a very young age with mother, dance teacher and mentor, Shari Caldwell. She became heavily influenced by traditional West African dance after being introduced to Guinean culture by Aly Tatchol Camara. She was further introduced to various styles of dance and a plethora of choreographers, performing artists as well as the importance of composition while attending the Educational Center for the Arts and Earl Mosley's Institute of the Arts in CT. She was accepted into the B.F.A. program at Virginia Commonwealth University and studied briefly before landing a dream position as performing artist in company Ronald K. Brown/ EVIDENCE, A Dance Company in 2011. She was honored to be promoted to Assistant Rehearsal Director after six years. It was a pleasure for her to find a balance between concert theater and commercial work as she landed gigs touring and teaching hip hop styles. A few highlights of her dance career include representing the USA at the International Festival of Ballet held in Cali, Colombia, performing at the infamous Joyce Theater, Fire Island, Delacorte Theater in Central Park, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and being featured in the New York Times courtesy of RKB/ EVIDENCE. She has also taught and assisted dance classes at various theaters, performing art schools and universities as community outreach and fitness awareness. She is currently EVIDENCE Rehearsal Director and Guest Artist as well as an adjunct professor at NYU’s TIsch School of the Arts teaching hip hop, modern contemporary, traditional West African styles, and EVIDENCE Repertory. It is a privilege whenever she is able to return to the stage with her EVIDENCE dance family as a guest artist! Joyce Edwards (Assistant Rehearsal Director/Dancer), a Rochester, NY, native, is a lifelong student who uses her artistry to spread love unconditionally and ferociously. She is a 2021 graduate of dance with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The College at Brockport, SUNY. Joyce is known for her performance in works by Bessie Award winning choreographer Beth Gill and Netta Yerushalmy (Brand New Sidewalk, 2017; Pitkin Grove, 2018; Paramodernities, 2019). She is mentioned in the 2019 Dance Magazine issue of “25 to Watch” in 2020. EVIDENCE welcomed Joyce as an apprentice in May of 2018, and later as a company member in August of 2019 following her premiere in Ronald K. Brown’s Mercy at Bard SummerScape. Alongside her role as dancer with EVIDENCE, she is the Assistant Rehearsal Director, and has had the opportunity to assist setting repertory on students at the Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis and the New Orleans Ballet Association (2021). Joyce is celebrating her third season with the company. Tsubasa Kamei (Technical Director/Production Manager/Resident Lighting Designer) has toured with the company to more than 65 venues globally and internationally. Credits include: Scene and lighting for Mercy (World Premiere), lighting for Four Corners; Dancing Dance
9
Spirit (Company Premiere); New Conversations: Iron Meets Water (World Premiere) for Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE. He has also designed The Call (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) and Where The Light Shines Through (TU Dance), all choreographed by Ronald K. Brown. Austin Warren Coats (Dancer) is an interdisciplinary artist with a Magna Cum Laude bachelor’s degree in dance studies from Kent State University and a Master of Fine Arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Reynoldsburg, OH, he has had the honor to work with artists such as Silvana Cardell, Angela Luem, Catherine Meredith, Jess Pretty, Jamal White, and Ronald K. Brown. Through scholarships he has attended summer intensives from The Joffrey Ballet School, Ruth Page Center of the Performing Arts, and Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE, A Dance Company dance intensive and workshop series. Coats also has many interests in the arts including fine art, dance, and fashion design. He is a published illustrator in college publications and illustrates for various dancers’ projects. His life goal is to become a choreographer and artistic director. Stephanie Chronopoulos (Dancer) is a first generation Greek American, born and raised in New York City. She graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in Dance from LIU Brooklyn. At LIU, Stephanie had the privilege of performing works by influential choreographers such as Khaleah London, Frederick Earl Mosley, Erika Pujic, Doug Varone, and Ronald K. Brown. In 2015, she became a company member of Forces of Nature Dance Theater under the Direction of Abdel Salaam. During her time with the company, she performed in the Bessie Award-winning Healing Sevens at BAM's Dance Africa, and in the revival of Terrestrial Wombs at the Apollo Theater. Stephanie has also apprenticed with Jennifer Muller/ The Works, and is now a company member with EVIDENCE, A Dance Company. She is also a recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship. Breana Moore (Dancer) is a Memphis, TN, native. She graduated from the Certificate Training Program at the Ailey School and holds a B.S. in Human & Organizational Development and Sociology from Vanderbilt University. Breana has had the privilege of performing works by Alvin Ailey, Kirven Douhit-Boyd, Ronald K. Brown, Norbert De La Cruz, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Yusha Marie-Sorzano, and Judine Somerville. Breana also performed with The Ailey School in Merce Cunningham's 100th Anniversary tribute show at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. In August of 2019, Breana joined EVIDENCE as an apprentice and performed 10
Program
for the Joyce Theater season in February of 2020. Breana is a recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship and is excited for her first season as a company member of EVIDENCE. Christopher Salango (Dancer) from Stockton, CA received his Bachelor of Arts in dance from California State University, Sacramento where he discovered his love for Dunham Technique, under the tutelage of Dr. Linda Goodrich, Dr. Halifu Osumare, and Bernard Brown. Christopher continued his training with Urban Bush Women’s Summer Arts program, Elisa Monte Dance Summer Series, and is a two-time recipient of the Beth Young Scholarship for Ronald K. Brown/ EVIDENCE: A Dance Company’s Summer Workshop Series. He is a second-year candidate for the Institute of Dunham Certification and is excited to continue his journey while performing with his EVIDENCE family. Shaylin D. Watson (Dancer) was born in Lanham, MD, and trained at Duke Ellington School of the Arts under the instruction of Charles Augins and Katherine Smith. She obtained a B.F.A. in Dance with a concentration in Choreography and Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2019. While in North Carolina, her choreography was featured in the National Black Theater Festival (Winston Salem, NC, 2019). Ms. Watson is a recipient of the EVIDENCE dance workshop series Beth Young Scholarship and has also received scholarships to intensives such as American Dance Festival and University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She has performed works by choreographers such as Clarice Young, Ronald K. Brown, T Lang, Christopher Huggins and Marcus White, and Shen Wei. Shaylin became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2019. Daniel S. Harder (Guest Artist) began dancing at Suitland High School’s Center for the Visual and Performing Arts in Maryland and received additional training at the Dance Institute of Washington, Debbie Allen Dance Academy, The Ailey School and Dance Theater of Harlem. Upon graduating, Mr. Harder attended the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. program in dance on full scholarship, where he had the opportunity to work with and perform works by world renowned choreographers. Before graduating in 2009, he danced in an international tour of West Side Story, and with Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Daniel became a member of Ailey II in 2009 and joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2010, under the direction of Judith Jamison, where he was featured in works by Alvin Ailey, Rennie Harris, Ronald K. Brown, Hans van Manen, Aszure Barton, Ulysses Dove, and Kyle Abraham, to name a few. Recently, Daniel made his Broadway debut in Dance
11
Disney’s The Lion King. Mr. Harder has had the privilege to work as a choreographer’s assistant with powerhouses including Debbie Allen and Christopher L. Huggins at Lula Washington Dance Theater, Philadanco, and Dallas Black Dance Theater. When Mr. Harder is not performing, he teaches master classes at high schools and universities in the U.S. and abroad. Randall Riley (Guest Artist) (he/him) Born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. Randall’s passion for movement began with his local church’s dance ministry, which then led him to Ballet Atlantic Academy directed by Leslie Anne Otto. Upon completing his Undergrad at Long Island University Brooklyn Campus’ B.F.A. program Randall soon after joined Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, a Dance Company. He also works and volunteers his time often with Diversity Of Dance’s various seasonal programming and residencies. Most recently as an original cast member for the video project, now live performance piece, “Unconquered”. Randall’s a former member of TU Dance of Saint Paul, Minnesota where he eventually was a contributing artist to the Bon Iver collaboration “Come Through”. Making appearances in several video projects since. Including “Naeem v2” as a headliner for Undercurrents now touring art exhibit in response to the Climate Change Crisis. Throughout his career he has performed works by Tsai Hsi, Alenka Cizmesija, Bill T Jones, Donald Byrd, Ronald K. Brown, Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, Gioconda Barbuto, and Francesca Harper. He feels extremely fortunate to have this opportunity to continue sharing his artistry now as a member of New York City’s Battery Dance Company. Randall first joined Evidence in 2013. Special thanks to Colvin Grannum, Sabine LaFortune, Karen Thornton, and the boards and staffs of the Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation and The Billie Holiday Theatre. Special thanks to Linda Shelton, Meghan Rose Murphy, Margaret Hollenbeck, Ross LeClair, Aaron Mattocks, Jean M. Ross, Vernon Scott, Andy Sheagren, Meg White, and the board and staff of The Joyce Theater. Additional special thanks to Jeremy Ganter, Don Roth, Jenna Bell, and the board and staff of the Mondavi Center. Ongoing appreciation to Pierre Apraxine, Monica Azare, Torya Beard, Black Art Futures Fund, Booth Ferris Foundation, Sylvia B. "Mom" Bryant, Ayodele Casel, Elena Comendador, Jean Cook, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Dr. Indira Etwaroo, Pamela M. Green, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Robert-Kristoffer Haynes, Ed Henry and Susan Monk, Allen Harvey, Andrea Hoffman, Howard Gilman Foundation, Bruce Gordon and Tawana Tibbs, William Talbott Hillman Foundation, Susan Jacobson and David Moskovitz, Fatima Jones, Paunika Jones, Emil Kang, Maurine Knighton, Loida Lewis, Sharon Luckman, Mary McCormick and the Fund for the City of New York, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Mertz Gilmore Foundation, Freddie Moore, New England Foundation for the Arts, The New York Community Trust, New York State Council on the Arts, Newman’s Own Foundation, The O'Donnell-Green Music and Dance Foundation, Frances Resheske,
12
Program
Alison Riley, Solange Sandy, Soto Family Fund in honor of Dr. & Mrs. Benheli Edghill and family, Roberta Stevens, Elizabeth D. Stoehr, Marcia Brady Tucker Foundation, Reginald Van Lee, Amit Wadhwaney, Lisa Walker, Emily Waters, Vera Wells, Kerry Wingo, and the EVIDENCE Circle of Friends.
ARTPOWER STAFF
Joanna Christian, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications Carolena Deutsch-Garcia, Associate Director of Development Jennifer Mancano, Events & Performing Arts Business Manager Jordan Peimer, Executive Director Kathryn Sturch, Production Manager
STUDENT STAFF
Ashley Asadi '23, Junior Arts Org Assistant Karen Avila '24, Usher Olivia Bryan '22, Senior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Valen Chang '22, Usher Cameron Chen '22, Junior Arts Org Assistant Caleb Foley '23, Usher Katrina Graziano '25, Usher Julie Han '22, Junior Arts Org Assistant Avery Hom '22, Senior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Issac Ing '24, Usher Madison Kim '23, Junior Arts Org Assistant Mandy Lai '25, Junior Arts Org Assistant Kaitlin Lee '24, Usher Julie Li '25, Junior Arts Org Assistant Emmalias '24, Production Assistant Jocelyn Obregon-Padilla '23, Usher Ashley Moon '22, Junior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Calvin Naraghi '22, Production Assistant Tracy Nguyen '23, Junior Arts Org Assistant Rachel Paner '24, Junior Arts Org Assistant Sierra Plys '23, Usher Yeji Shin '22, Junior Marketing & Graphic Design Assistant Musa Turner '24, Usher Hasmineh Sinani '22, Production Assistant Hao Wang '24, Junior Arts Org Assistant Xiaoxuan (Andrina) Zhang '24, Usher
Dance
13