'for colored girls' Returns to Broadway in a Triumphant Revival

“this impeccably performed, exquisitely choreographed revival manages the same for many of us out there in the dark. Dance, said Shange, allowed her to understand the planet the way “atomic particles experience space.” If that’s so, then atomic particles must love each other wildly. They must always be so grateful to see each other, whenever gravity — or a revival — draws them back into one another’s arms.”

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Gwendolyn Baum
‘for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf’ Broadway Review: Ntozake Shange’s Groundbreaking Choreopoem Breathes Again

“Director and choreographer Camille A. Brown and her cast of seven female singer-dancer-actors breathe life and vitality into Ntozake Shange’s still-potent mid-1970s touchstone for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf. Opening tonight at the Booth Theatre on Broadway, Shange’s fantasia of poetry, dance and stories of confession, defiance, sisterhood and, above all, perseverance, holds a power that’s not been weakened either by decades or the loss of a once startling newness.”

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Gwendolyn Baum
Shange’s “for colored girls…” Returns Home after 46 Years, Relevant as Ever, and Still Ahead of its Time

“ the phenomenal Tony nominee Camille A. Brown, “a true superstar of theater and dance” (NPR), is helming the project, the first Black women to serve in the dual roles of director and choreographer on a Broadway production in more than 65 years (Katherine Dunham was the most recent and first choreographer). Ms. Brown’s vision is as fearlessly new as it is fiercely now and feistily aligned in movement, sway and inspiration with her late friend Ntozake’s words.”

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Gwendolyn Baum
Best Dance of 2021

“This year, the choreographer Camille A. Brown stopped an opera in its tracks. In Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones,” which she directed with James Robinson, Brown brought social dance to the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House in Oct. with a step number that was stunning in multiple ways: visually, sonically and historically. By including this form of percussive dance, Brown not only put a step dance inside of an opera, she honored her ancestors. (Read our review of “Fire Shut Up in My Bones.”)”

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Gwendolyn Baum
The Metropolitan Opera Ushers in a More Diverse Era

“The Metropolitan Opera reopened on Sept. 27 with a performance of Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” — the first opera at the Met by a Black composer. Because of the pandemic, there was no red carpet or cocktail reception for the opening night gala, a traditional high point of the fall social season.”

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Gwendolyn Baum
Metropolitan Opera’s Opening Night Performance of Fire Shut Up in My Bones Will Air Live in Times Square and Harlem

“The September 27 opening night performance of Fire Shut Up in My Bones—which marks both the Met’s first mainstage production since the coronavirus pandemic and the Met’s first opera by a Black composer—will stream live on screens in Times Square and, as another first, in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park. Seating across the two spaces, available on a first-come, first-served basis for the 6:30 PM ET performance, will more than double the actual house’s 3,600-seat capacity.

Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the opening night production, which is co-directed by James Tobinson and Tony nominee Camille A. Brown; the latter, who also choreographed, is the first Black director to stage a mainstage production at the house. The cast is led by Will Liverman as Charles, Angel Blue as Destiny/Loneliness/Greta, and Latonia Moore as Billie.

The creative team includes set designer Allen Moyer, costume designer Paul Tazewell, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind, and projection designer Greg Emetaz.”

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Gwendolyn Baum
For The First Time In 65 Years, Camille A. Brown Will Be The First Black Woman To Direct And Choreograph A Broadway Show

“In more than 65 years, Brown is the first Black woman to serve as both director and choreographer of a Broadway production. The last Black woman to both direct and choreograph on Broadway was the great artist Katherine Dunham who directed and choreographed her dance company in a three act dance revue at the Broadway Theater in November 1955.”

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Gwendolyn Baum
These Powerful Performers Prove It’s Time to End Ageism in Dance

"Lane has used this past year to turn inwards, work on his craft, and revamp his goals. 'We’re so much on-the-go, but having this year to just sit still, to figure out what your next steps are, was very eye-opening. It was almost like a watering for something new to blossom.'

For Catherine Foster, the pandemic wasn’t an excuse for a looming retirement either; it was an opportunity for expansion in new ways. She has already come so far, yet she has only just begun."

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Gwendolyn Baum
New York City Center Announces 2021-22 Season, Including Encores! Runs of INTO THE WOODS, THE LIFE & THE TAP DANCE KID

“Following is twelve-time Tony nominated musical (including Best Musical) The Life, March 16 - 20, with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Ira Gasman, and book by David Newman, Ira Gasman, and Cy Coleman. Emmy and Tony Award-winning artist Billy Porter reclaims this musical as the production's adapter and director to bring forth the gritty, dangerous, and exciting decadence of 1980s New York City and an authenticity to the lives of sex workers. The production features choreography by Tony-nominated choreographer and Encores! Creative Advisor Camille A. Brown (Choir Boy).”

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Gwendolyn Baum
30 Over 30: Dance Pros Who Prove Success Can Happen at Any Age

“Maybe even more than most industries, the dance field is obsessed with youth. We fawn over prodigies, we love to predict the next big thing. Yes, Dance Magazine itself is 100 percent guilty of this, with features like "25 to Watch" and On the Rise.

But just because a performing career can be short doesn't mean that it has to be, or that someone doesn't have anything to offer the dance world if they haven't done it by their 20s. So we decided to put a twist on the traditional power list and highlight 30 over 30 who've had incredible breakthroughs, or seen career renaissances, or come into their own in new chapters of their careers after age 29. Their success today is built on the foundations they laid down, the experience they gained, the work they put in as they soaked up the lessons along the way.”

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Gwendolyn Baum
ANGRY, RAUCOUS AND SHAMELESSLY GORGEOUS

“Pearl Cleage’s ‘funny and hopeful’ (Georgia Magazine) comedy is all about aging gracefully and gorgeously. Anna Campbell, now 65, sparked controversy when she bared it all on stage years ago. When a theatre festival asks to re-stage the work with a younger actress in her role, dramatic and comic fireworks ensue.”

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Gwendolyn Baum