ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Camille A. Brown - Choreographer, educator
Camille A. Brown leads her dance company through excavations of ancestral stories, both timeless and traditional, that connect history with contemporary culture.

Why you should listen

Camille A. Brown is a prolific Black female choreographer reclaiming the cultural narrative of African American identity. She is a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow, Audelco Award recipient, four-time Princess Grace Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow, Jacob's Pillow Dance Award recipient, USA Jay Franke & David Herro Fellow, TED Fellow and Doris Duke Artist Award recipient.

Her Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD), tours nationally and internationally. The repertory includes the Bessie award-winning Mr. TOL E. RAncE (2012), the Bessie-nominated BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play (2015) and ink (2017), which premiered at The Kennedy Center. CABD's community engagement platform, EVERY BODY MOVE, inspires collective action through the art of social dance and includes initiatives such as Black Girl Spectrum, Black Men Moving, The Gathering and more.

Brown has been commissioned to create concert dance works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco!, Urban Bush Women, Complexions, Ailey II, Ballet Memphis and Hubbard Street II.

In addition to her company works, Brown brings a passion for storytelling to her choreography for Broadway and Off-Broadway theater productions. Notable theater credits for her choreography include: Tony-winning Broadway revival Once On This Island, The Emmy-winning Jesus Christ Superstar Live on NBC as well as A Streetcar Named Desire, The Fortress of Solitude (Lortel Nomination) and BELLA: An American Tall Tale (Lortel Nomination), among others.

Brown graduated from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts in New York City and she has a BFA from UNC School of the Arts. She is the choreographer for the upcoming Magic Mike The Musical and PAL JOEY, and she is movement director for Broadway's Choir Boy and Toni Stone.

More profile about the speaker
Camille A. Brown | Speaker | TED.com
TED Studio

Camille A. Brown: A visual history of social dance in 25 moves

Camille A. Brown: Uma história visual da dança social em 25 movimentos

Filmed:
1,390,738 views

Por que dançamos? As danças sociais afro-americanas nasceram como uma maneira dos africanos escravizados manterem tradições culturais e um senso de liberdade interna. Elas continuam sendo uma afirmação de identidade e independência. Nessa demonstração eletrizante, cheia de apresentações ao vivo, a coreógrafa, educadora e Bolsista TED Camille A. Brown explora o que acontece quando comunidades se descontraem e se expressam dançando em conjunto.
- Choreographer, educator
Camille A. Brown leads her dance company through excavations of ancestral stories, both timeless and traditional, that connect history with contemporary culture. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:06
This is the Bop.
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Este é o Bop.
00:09
The Bop is a type of social dance.
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O Bop é um tipo de dança social.
00:15
Dance is a language,
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A dança é uma linguagem,
00:16
and social dance is an expression
that emerges from a community.
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e dança social é uma expressão
que emerge da comunidade.
00:21
A social dance isn't choreographed
by any one person.
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Uma dança social não é coreografada
por ninguém especificamente.
00:24
It can't be traced to any one moment.
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Ela não é vinculada
a um momento específico.
00:27
Each dance has steps
that everyone can agree on,
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Cada dança tem passos
com que todos concordam,
mas trata-se do indivíduo
e sua identidade criativa.
00:30
but it's about the individual
and their creative identity.
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Por isso,
00:35
Because of that,
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as danças sociais ficam evidentes,
00:36
social dances bubble up,
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00:38
they change
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elas mudam
00:39
and they spread like wildfire.
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e se espalham como fogo de palha.
00:42
They are as old as our remembered history.
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Elas são tão velhas
quanto a história que lembramos.
00:47
In African-American social dances,
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Nas danças sociais afro-americanas,
00:49
we see over 200 years
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nós vemos mais de 200 anos
00:51
of how African and African-American
traditions influenced our history.
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de como tradições
africanas e afro-americanas
influenciaram nossa história.
O presente sempre contém o passado.
00:58
The present always contains the past.
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01:01
And the past shapes who we are
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E o passado forma quem nós somos
e quem seremos.
01:03
and who we will be.
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01:05
(Clapping)
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(Palmas)
01:09
The Juba dance was born
from enslaved Africans' experience
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A dança Juba nasceu da experiência
dos africanos escravizados
01:12
on the plantation.
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nas plantações.
01:14
Brought to the Americas,
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Trazidos às Américas,
01:15
stripped of a common spoken language,
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despojados de uma língua falada comum,
01:17
this dance was a way for enslaved Africans
to remember where they're from.
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essa dança era a maneira
de os africanos escravizados
se lembrarem de suas origens.
01:22
It may have looked something like this.
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Provavelmente era algo assim.
01:30
Slapping thighs,
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Coxas balançando,
01:31
shuffling feet
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pés rápidos
01:33
and patting hands:
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e mãos batendo palmas:
01:34
this was how they got around
the slave owners' ban on drumming,
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era assim que eles driblavam
a proibição de tambores pelos donos,
01:38
improvising complex rhythms
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improvisando ritmos complexos
01:41
just like ancestors did
with drums in Haiti
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tal como faziam os ancestrais
com tambores no Haiti
01:44
or in the Yoruba communities
of West Africa.
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ou nas comunidades iorubás
na África Ocidental.
01:50
It was about keeping
cultural traditions alive
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Tratava-se de manter
tradições culturais vivas
01:53
and retaining a sense of inner freedom
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e manter um sentimento
de liberdade interior
01:56
under captivity.
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em cativeiro.
01:59
It was the same subversive spirit
that created this dance:
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Foi o mesmo espírito subversivo
que criou esta dança:
02:04
the Cakewalk,
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o Cakewalk,
02:05
a dance that parodied the mannerisms
of Southern high society --
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uma dança que parodiava os maneirismos
da alta sociedade sulista --
02:09
a way for the enslaved
to throw shade at the masters.
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uma maneira dos escravizados
criticarem seus mestres.
02:12
The crazy thing about this dance
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A coisa louca nessa dança
02:14
is that the Cakewalk
was performed for the masters,
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era que o Cakewalk
era apresentado aos mestres,
02:17
who never suspected
they were being made fun of.
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que nunca suspeitaram
que estavam sendo feitos de tolos.
02:23
Now you might recognize this one.
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Esta vocês devem reconhecer.
02:25
1920s --
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1920 --
02:26
the Charleston.
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o Charleston.
02:31
The Charleston was all about
improvisation and musicality,
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O Charleston é uma dança
de improvisação e musicalidade,
02:35
making its way into Lindy Hop,
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evoluindo para o Lindy Hop,
02:37
swing dancing
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dança swing
02:38
and even the Kid n Play,
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e até mesmo o Kid 'n' Play,
02:39
originally called the Funky Charleston.
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originalmente chamado de Funky Charleston.
02:47
Started by a tight-knit Black community
near Charleston, South Carolina,
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Nasceu em uma comunidade negra fechada
próxima a Charleston, Carolina do Sul,
02:51
the Charleston permeated dance halls
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o Charleston difundiu-se
em salões de dança
02:53
where young women suddenly had
the freedom to kick their heels
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onde moças jovens agora tinham
a liberdade de chutar os calcanhares
02:56
and move their legs.
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e mover suas pernas.
Dança social trata-se
de comunidade e conexão;
03:03
Now, social dance is about
community and connection;
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se você soubesse os passos,
03:06
if you knew the steps,
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significava que você pertencia a um grupo.
03:08
it meant you belonged to a group.
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03:10
But what if it becomes a worldwide craze?
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Mas e se ela se tornasse uma mania global?
03:13
Enter the Twist.
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Aparece o Twist.
Não é nenhuma surpresa que o Twist
tem sua origem no século 19,
03:14
It's no surprise that the Twist
can be traced back to the 19th century,
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trazido à América do Congo
03:19
brought to America from the Congo
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durante a escravatura.
03:21
during slavery.
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03:22
But in the late '50s,
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Mas no final dos anos 50,
03:24
right before the Civil Rights Movement,
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logo antes do movimento
dos direitos civis,
03:26
the Twist is popularized
by Chubby Checker and Dick Clark.
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o Twist é popularizado
por Chubby Checker e Dick Clark.
03:29
Suddenly, everybody's doing the Twist:
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De repente, todo mundo
está dançando o Twist:
03:32
white teenagers,
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adolescentes brancos,
03:33
kids in Latin America,
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jovens na América Latina,
03:35
making its way into songs and movies.
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sendo introduzido em músicas e filmes.
03:38
Through social dance,
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Através da dança social,
03:39
the boundaries between groups
become blurred.
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as fronteiras entre grupos ficam tênues.
03:45
The story continues in the 1980s and '90s.
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A história continua nos anos 80 e 90.
03:48
Along with the emergence of hip-hop,
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Junto com a aparição do hip-hop,
03:51
African-American social dance
took on even more visibility,
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a dança social afro-americana
recebeu ainda mais visibilidade,
03:55
borrowing from its long past,
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refletindo seu longo passado,
03:57
shaping culture and being shaped by it.
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formando cultura e sendo formada por ela.
04:08
Today, these dances continue
to evolve, grow and spread.
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Hoje, essas danças continuam
evoluindo, crescendo e avançando.
04:14
Why do we dance?
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Por que dançamos?
04:15
To move,
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Para nos mover,
04:16
to let loose,
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para descontrair,
04:17
to express.
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para nos expressar.
04:19
Why do we dance together?
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Por que dançamos juntos?
04:21
To heal,
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Para curar,
04:22
to remember,
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para lembrar,
04:23
to say: "We speak a common language.
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para dizer: "Nós temos
uma língua em comum.
04:26
We exist
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Nós existimos
04:27
and we are free."
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e somos livres."
Translated by Gustavo Rocha
Reviewed by Wanderley Jesus

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Camille A. Brown - Choreographer, educator
Camille A. Brown leads her dance company through excavations of ancestral stories, both timeless and traditional, that connect history with contemporary culture.

Why you should listen

Camille A. Brown is a prolific Black female choreographer reclaiming the cultural narrative of African American identity. She is a Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellow, Audelco Award recipient, four-time Princess Grace Award winner, Guggenheim Fellow, Jacob's Pillow Dance Award recipient, USA Jay Franke & David Herro Fellow, TED Fellow and Doris Duke Artist Award recipient.

Her Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD), tours nationally and internationally. The repertory includes the Bessie award-winning Mr. TOL E. RAncE (2012), the Bessie-nominated BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play (2015) and ink (2017), which premiered at The Kennedy Center. CABD's community engagement platform, EVERY BODY MOVE, inspires collective action through the art of social dance and includes initiatives such as Black Girl Spectrum, Black Men Moving, The Gathering and more.

Brown has been commissioned to create concert dance works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco!, Urban Bush Women, Complexions, Ailey II, Ballet Memphis and Hubbard Street II.

In addition to her company works, Brown brings a passion for storytelling to her choreography for Broadway and Off-Broadway theater productions. Notable theater credits for her choreography include: Tony-winning Broadway revival Once On This Island, The Emmy-winning Jesus Christ Superstar Live on NBC as well as A Streetcar Named Desire, The Fortress of Solitude (Lortel Nomination) and BELLA: An American Tall Tale (Lortel Nomination), among others.

Brown graduated from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts in New York City and she has a BFA from UNC School of the Arts. She is the choreographer for the upcoming Magic Mike The Musical and PAL JOEY, and she is movement director for Broadway's Choir Boy and Toni Stone.

More profile about the speaker
Camille A. Brown | Speaker | TED.com