Vibrant Dance This Summer by Ronald K. Brown\Evidence

Widely acclaimed for its explosive and original fusion of diverse dance traditions, Ronald K.Brown\Evidence will be in residence at Skidmore June 5-25. During the residency, the eight-dancer company will present an array of public events, conduct an extensive workshop for preprofessional dancers, and collaborate with award-winning jazz artist Nneena Freelon on a new work based on Billie Holiday's life and legacy.

Choreographer/dancer Brown has been hailed for creating dance described as "unbridled and raw and brimming with emotional undercurrents....movement that never lies, bound to the beat of Africa ...a dance continuum of past and present, something that Brown has captured like no other African-American choreographer" (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

Brown and Evidence will present a full-evening dance performance at the Egg, in the Empire State Plaza in Albany, at 8 p.m. Friday, June 10, with a pre-performance talk at 7:15 p.m. For reservations, call the Egg box office at 518-473-1845.

Events on campus will include three community master classes (for intermediate- and advanced-level dancers) in the Skidmore Dance Center studios, at 7:30 p.m. June 7, 14, and 21. Admission is $10, with registration at the door. Brown and dancers will present three free lecture-demonstrations beginning at 7:30 p.m. June 8, 15, and 22, in the Dance Theater, with a glimpse of Brown and Freelon's work June 22. The residency will conclude with a free presentation by dance-workshop students at 2 p.m. Friday, June 24, in the Dance Theater. For more information about residency events on campus, call 518-580-5595.

About Ronald K. Brown

Brown grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y. After two years of formal dance training, starting when he was 17, Brown believed that "I could create a dance folklore for the Afro-American community," and fused a highly distinctive style drawn from multiple sources, Caribbean, urban hip-hop, traditional West African dance, Martha Graham, and more. "I want people to experience the desire to have their spirits lifted," Brown has said.

Commissioned by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, and others, Evidence has performed at New York's Joyce Theater, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lyon/Biennale de la Danse, the American Dance Festival, and other venues. Brown is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including a Bessie (a New York Dance and Performance Award).

Supported by the New York State Council on the Arts and the Office of the Dean of Special Programs at Skidmore, the College's summer-dance program has brought to campus such outstanding choreographers and companies as Twyla Tharp, Mark Morris, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane & Co., Martha Graham, Trisha Brown, José Limón, David Parsons, Garth Fagan, Lar Lubovitch, Ballet Hispanico, and Doug Varone and Dancers. While in residence the groups create new works, rehearse, teach, and perform.

For more information about the summer dance residency, call the Office of the Dean of Special Programs at 518-580-5590 or go to hudson2.skidmore.edu/summer.

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