Joining Generations: Camille A. Brown

Friday, December 8, 3:00-4:00pm
Geballe Room, Stephens Hall | UC Berkeley
In collaboration with Cal Performances

Join us for our second Joining Generations conversation with acclaimed choreographer Camille A. Brown. Learn about Brown's process creating BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play, the second part of a trilogy (Mr. TOL E. RAnCE and the forthcoming ink) exploring culture, race, and identity. In BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play, Brown uses the rhythmic play of African-American dance vernacular including social dancing, double dutch, steppin’, tap, Juba, ring shout, and gesture as the black woman’s domain to evoke childhood memories of self-discovery. Ms. Brown will be in conversation with Prof. Brandi Wilkins Catanese (TDPS and African-American Studies). Free and open to the public.

Upcoming FLACC Panel

Choreography During a Time of Oppression: 

A conversation with Latino/x contemporary dance makers

In collaboration with the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers (FLACC) and the Performance in the Americas Working Group, this panel will feature local and international choreographers, Zarina Mendoza, CatherineMarie Davalos, and Caleb Luna, talking about the role of contemporary dance and performance as a mode of expression to challenge the ongoing oppressive policies that target non-normative Latino/a bodies. The discussion will be moderated by Prof. Angela Marino.

Time: Wednesday, November 8, 5-7p
Location: Shorb House 2547 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA 
RSVP on facebook

Free and open to the public. Food and refreshments provided. 

FLACC is generously supported by the San Francisco Arts Commission and the Zellerbach Foundation. 

Call for participants!

DSWG is collaborating with Cal Performances and their “Joining Generations” program which will feature the work of African-American choreographers Reggie Wilson, Camille A. Brown, Donald Byrd, and Robert Battle (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater). Over the course of the year DSWG members will have the opportunity to join each of these esteemed choreographers in an intimate discussion regarding race, legacy, and tradition in dance with Professor Brandi Catanese (TDPS, African American Studies).

The events will be open to the public, however, we are looking for a small cohort of DSWG members (~12 individuals) who can commit to attending each event, a total of four over the year, so as to create a through line across the conversations. In exchange for participating, cohort members will receive one free ticket to each performance. Please note the sessions will be recorded and shared on the Cal Performances website. The dates are as follows:

Reggie Wilson’s Fist and Heel Performance Group / Moses(es)

DSWG session: Thursday, 9/21/17, Geballe Room, Stephens Hall, 3:00-4:00pm

Camille A. Brown & Dancers / BLACK GIRL Linguistic Play

DSWG session: Friday, 12/8/17, UC Berkeley Durham Theater, 3:00-4:00pm

Donald Byrd’s Spectrum Dance Theater / Rap on Race

DSWG session: Tuesday, 2/6/18, (exact time and location TBD)

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Robert Battle, Artistic Director

DSWG session: Tuesday, 4/10/18, UC Berkeley (exact time and location TBD)

If you are interested in being a part of this cohort, please email us at dswgberk@gmail.com. We will accept individuals on a first come, first serve basis.

Joining Generations Discussion: Reggie Wilson

Thursday, September 21, 3-4pm

Geballe Room, Stephens Hall | UC Berkeley

In collaboration with Cal Performances

Sponsored by Townsend Center for the Humanities

As part of a yearlong series of programming at Cal Performances, Joining Generations features the work of four generations of African American choreographers who have expanded the boundaries of contemporary dance. This inaugural discussion will feature choreographer Reggie Wilson in conversation with Prof. Brandi Wilkins Catanese (Depts. of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies and African American Studies) and will explore how issues of ancestry and legacy factor into Wilson's work. 

Reggie Wilson makes rich, sensual, complex dances that vibrate with the layered histories of the African diaspora. Receiving its California premiere at Cal Performances, his full-length Moses(es) is inspired by Zora Neale Hurston's vernacular retelling of the biblical Moses story and combines his own experiences traveling to North Africa to understand the migration of Africans with extensive research into black culture, movement, and spiritual traditions. The result is a powerful investigation of the nature of leadership - who leads? who follows? - in our contemporary culture. 

Free and open to the public.