By: Ruth Ferguson, NDG Editor
Ronald K. Brown has a single aspiration for the audience when they experience Ronald K. Brown/Evidence at the Winspear Opera House on Sept. 20.
“I wished, hoped, and believed, they would see a reflection of themselves and the human condition. With both Grace and Mercy you will see the community on stage finding grace and mercy.
This is a celebration of the 20th of anniversary of Grace, commissioned for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The show at TITAS/daNCE UNBOUND is available in association with the nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center.
“The conversation is heart to heart and spirit to spirit, from the most high and each other,” is how Brown describes the piece.
Twenty years later, he was excited to create a companion piece entitled Mercy.
“We think about mercy as something that someone in power gives you. But we as brothers and sisters can give each other, mercy,” Brown shared.
While the show may feel timely given today’s political climate, Brown indicated he was not responding to the craziness and hatred of today. The fact it is a part of our conversations is undeniable.
“But it is not new,” Brown points out.
It is also important to him for the audience to see themselves reflected among the dancers. Therefore he features diversity in body types.
“For the community members to respond to the work I am presenting, I want people to look like folk they know,” Brown stated. We all know dancers in varying shapes and sizes, but typically they are never given a chance to be a professional dancer. Brown scoffs at the idea of a dancer’s body the industry usually glorifies.
“Dancer bodies come in all shapes,” he stated.
When asked what he hopes guests feel when they see the show, he defined it in one word – liberation.
“I am interested in our liberation when people come to see Evidence when you leave the theater, you feel like your spirit has been lifted up,” Brown stated. “Loving each other as the music will take you on a journey.”
Tickets are available at attpac.org or by phone at 214-880-0202.
