Ronald K. Brown Bio
"Ronald K. Brown has emerged in recent years as one of the strongest, most distinctive choreographers around." – The New York Times
“one of the most profound choreographers of his modern dance generation.” – The New York Times
Ronald K. Brown is the artistic director of the eight member, Ronald K. Brown/Evidence Company which was founded in 1985 and is based in Brooklyn. His company explores a rich blend of modern, ballet, hip-hop and African dance to tell stories that express the connectedness of humanity and deep spirituality. The Washington Post praises the group’s “exquisitely sculpted movement which springs from a deep well of spiritual urgency.”
"I think with very few exceptions all of my work has been influenced by the amount of loss that I have experienced personally due to the AIDS epidemic. Loss remains a constant theme in my work that I use to direct us towards a productive, service-filled, and peaceful walk." – Ron K. Brown, 2000
Ronald K. Brown makes dance stories in response to the human condition and the current cultural climate. He shares various perspectives of life through modern dance, theater and kinetic story telling. His use of history, tradition and dance forms from Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, combined the modern and urban dance, says through the body what cannot be said with words. Dance is Brown’s unique way of retaining African culture for a new generation. Traditional sensibilities of community, ritual and collective understanding are expressed through the stories and the movement and reinforced in the work.
Mr. Brown drastically transformed his style of movement and created an exhilarating new dynamic quality when he visited the Ivory Coast and other parts of West Africa as well as when he met Rokiya Kone, a choreographer from the Ivory Coast, at the American Dance Festival in 1994. "Striking in its purity...Mr. Brown has drawn again on his visits to the Ivory Coast and other parts of West Africa and transformed his experiences there into something deceptively abstract and directly universal . . . Mr. Brown strikes a vibrant chord." - The New York Times
His numerous honors include a John Simon-Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Choreography, a National Endowment for the Arts Choreographer's Fellowship, a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie), the American Dance Festival Humphrey/Weidman/Limón Award, fellowships from the Edward and Sally van Lier Fund and a Black Theatre Alliance Award just top name a few. In addition, Brown was named Def Dance Jam Workshop Mentor of the Year in 2000. Brown also received an AUDELCO (Black Theatre Award) for his choreography for Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats in 2003.
