Camille A. Brown and Dancers
8 pm Thursday-Saturday, Dec. 6-8., Thursday December 06 | $20-$30.
Bamboozled, Spike Lee’s controversial satire of modern minstrelsy, helps fuel New York-based choreographer Camille A. Brown’s MR. TOL E. RAncE, as does the Mel Watkins’ book On The Real Side: A History of African-American Comedy From Slavery to Chris Rock. In other words, this is no “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”: Brown and her six dancers dig into stereotypes of African-American performers in this 45-minute multimedia work, while simultaneously acknowledging the humor (and other coping mechanisms) that carried said performers over. This is the West Coast debut of the piece, which will culminate each night in a post-show conversation between artists and viewers on the issues at hand, moderated on Thursday by local dancer-choreographer Kemba Shannon, on Friday by journalist S. Renee Mitchell and on Saturday by Kevin Jones and Lesli Mones, founders of the August Wilson Red Door Project. Brown’s body of work spans Broadway (most recently, choreographing the revival of A Streetcar Named Desire) to guest spots with hip-hop company Rennie Harris/Puremovement, and her directorial style reflects that breadth of experience.
Where: Lincoln Hall, Portland State University
Phone: 725-3307
Address: 1620 SW Park Ave.
Website: www.whitebird.org
Where: Lincoln Hall, Portland State University
Phone: 725-3307
Address: 1620 SW Park Ave.
Website: www.whitebird.org
