Q&A with Camille A. Brown, founder and artistic director of Camille A. Brown & Dancers
Camille A. Brown鈥檚聽work has graced Broadway shows such as 鈥淥nce on This Island,鈥� the recent Netflix film 鈥淢a Rainey鈥檚 Black Bottom,鈥� and the Metropolitan Opera production of 鈥淧orgy and Bess.鈥� She鈥檚 also a TED fellow, and created the 2016 TED presentation 鈥淎 Visual History of Social Dance in 25 Moves,鈥� which demonstrates how popular dance steps (鈥渟ocial dance鈥�) like the Charleston originated in African American communities. Her choreography expands on those traditions while being grounded in modern dance. She creates work that fosters a deeper understanding of Black history, culture, and identity. Her online Social Dance for Social Justice School creates opportunities for, and mentors, young artists of color. She recently spoke with the Monitor about her creative process.
Q: How do you start visualizing movement for a musical?
It depends on the show and what is required 鈥� what is the story. I ask a lot of questions. The job is to create the vision of the director using your choreographic voice. Now that I鈥檓 getting into directing, I鈥檓 starting to ask my own questions: 鈥淗ow do I want to make people feel?鈥� 鈥淲hat is the takeaway?鈥�
Q: What is the role of a choreographer in productions such as Broadway musicals?
Dance shapes the character and [ties] the strings all together in the movement and visual aspects. ... But there鈥檚 not just one system. Everyone has their own way of working and navigating, and you鈥檙e working with different directors who each have their own process, so each time is a different experience.
Q: Is that different from your process of聽choreographing dance for your company? Your evening-length concert dances are usually preceded by extensive research.
I research musical theater, too. That鈥檚 a misconception, like it鈥檚 all happy dance. Some of the most weighted research I鈥檝e done is around musical theater 鈥� dealing with stereotypes, mass incarceration. ... 鈥淐hoir Boy鈥� was about navigating space as a young Black gay man. In 鈥淥nce on This Island鈥� one of the focuses was on class. I鈥檓 going to dig in somewhere before every dance, but you dig into yourself, too. How can you connect on a personal level?
It鈥檚 your vision [and] decision-making. It鈥檚 how you lead, how you collaborate with dancers and musicians, or whoever you鈥檝e brought together to make work, and that can be very daunting. ... It starts with who鈥檚 in the room and what鈥檚 the energy they are bringing into the space. It鈥檚 a community that you鈥檙e building. It鈥檚 very exciting because it is yours and you can play, but it鈥檚 scary, too.
Q: How do you generate ideas?
Sometimes it鈥檚 music first, sometimes something on TV is very inspiring, sometimes I鈥檓 walking and see a visual. It depends. You have to allow for difference; otherwise you鈥檙e just repeating yourself. After each show, I write what I鈥檝e learned from doing that show. I鈥檝e learned something from all of them. I want to experience transformation with every project. I want to be changed after every experience.
Q: How do you see your company鈥檚 role in promoting social justice?
I am trying to tell all kinds of stories the way I see them. I鈥檓 walking in my Blackness, and I鈥檝e been walking in my Blackness, so there may be people that are shocked by what鈥檚 happening, but this has been an issue for centuries. This is nothing new. I got a lot of pushback when I started creating 鈥淢r. TOL E. RAncE鈥� (2012) because it鈥檚 about Black stereotypes, and people [were] like, 鈥淲hy are you doing this now? We鈥檙e in a post-racial society. We don鈥檛 need to talk about race anymore.鈥� And look at where we are now. You have to speak your truth when you feel the need to say it.
Q: You define 鈥渟ocial dance鈥� as dance that emerges from a community. What role does it play in聽creating听肠辞尘尘耻苍颈迟测?
It has several roles, which is the beauty. It鈥檚 a time for celebration, for healing, to be together, to be social, to interact, and feel each other in space, to share our creative identity. I鈥檝e always had a small voice and been reluctant to speak, especially in public. Movement is my way to express myself in the safest place for me. I almost dropped out of that TED Talk, but I try to push through the fear of things. With my process, I don鈥檛 map out from A to Z. Sometimes I just have to push through the fear of not knowing and see it as a place to discover.
Q: What else would you most want people to know about you and your work?
I鈥檓 still in a male-dominated field. That hasn鈥檛 changed. I have to work 20 times harder. Think about how you have to hold the space as a woman and being Black, and put that together. That鈥檚 a lot to carry.
Q: What do you see for yourself in the next five years?
I hope I grow. I want to be ready for infinite possibilities and constantly put myself in situations where I鈥檓 challenged and it鈥檚 not comfortable ... having the courage to be seen. It takes bravery to get out and share your voice, to do what artists do every day. There are times I think, 鈥淥h my goodness, I can鈥檛 do that!鈥� And sometimes it comes to other people encouraging me to keep going. You don鈥檛 do things alone.
