Camille A. Brown: A visual history of social dance in 25 moves
Camille A. Brown: Une histoire visuelle de la danse en 25 mouvements
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.
that emerges from a community.
qui émerge d'une communauté.
by any one person.
par qui que ce soit.
that everyone can agree on,
sur lesquels tout le monde s'accorde
and their creative identity.
et de son identité créative.
que notre histoire.
traditions influenced our history.
et afro-américaines sur notre histoire.
from enslaved Africans' experience
to remember where they're from.
pour les esclaves africains,
de leurs origines.
the slave owners' ban on drumming,
l'interdiction des tambours,
with drums in Haiti
avec des tambours à Haïti
of West Africa.
en Afrique Occidentale.
cultural traditions alive
les traditions culturelles
that created this dance:
qui a créé cette danse :
of Southern high society --
de la haute société du Sud --
to throw shade at the masters.
de faire de l'ombre à leurs maîtres.
was performed for the masters,
était effectuée pour les maîtres,
they were being made fun of.
qu'on se moquait d'eux.
improvisation and musicality,
d'improvisation et de musicalité,
s'appelait Funky Charleston.
near Charleston, South Carolina,
près de Charleston, en Caroline du sud,
les salles de danse
the freedom to kick their heels
soudain libres de lancer leurs talons
community and connection;
de communauté et de connexion ;
can be traced back to the 19th century,
dater le Twist du XIXe siècle,
des Droits Civiques,
by Chubby Checker and Dick Clark.
par Chubby Checker et Dick Clark.
dans les chansons et les films.
become blurred.
dans les années 80 et 90.
took on even more visibility,
devient encore plus visible,
et étant façonnée par elle.
to evolve, grow and spread.
d'évoluer, de grandir et de se répandre.
« Nous parlons une langue commune.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Camille A. Brown - Choreographer, educatorCamille 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.
Camille A. Brown | Speaker | TED.com