Camille A. Brown & Dancers Perform Tonight at O'Shaughnessy

New York-based Camille A. Brown & Dancers bring their gutsy moves and virtuosic musicality to The O'Shaughnessy stage for one night only tonight, February 21 at 7:30pm. A Women of Substance event, The O'Shaughnessy and Ordway Center for the Performing Arts will co-present the acclaimed company, who will perform excerpts from the regional premiere of the Bessie Award-winning "Mr. TOL E. RAncE," the Midwest preview of "Black Girl: Linguistic Play" and "New Second Line." The company uses high theatricality and the aesthetics of African, ballet, contemporary, tap and social dances to tell stories that connect history with contemporary American culture.

In the new work "Black Girl: Linguistic Play," Camille A. Brown & Dancers explore the complexities of carving out a positive identity as a black female. This bold piece uses African-American social dancing, rhythmic play and musical compositions to depict who "black girl" knows herself to be underneath the stereotyping and programming. Community participatory research laid the foundation for this work, including movement workshops and interviews in incarcerated women's facilities across the country.

The company's community outreach component, Black Girl Spectrum, will take place in Minneapolis through a workshop with Lovin' the Skin I'm In, a nonprofit focused on providing uplifting programs for young African-American girls.

"Mr. TOL E. RAncE" was inspired by Mel Watkins' book, "On The Real Side: From Slavery to Chris Rock," Spike Lee's controversial film, "Bamboozled," and Dave Chappelle's "dancing vs. shuffling" analogy. This dance theater work celebrates African-American humor and examines "the mask" of survival and the "double consciousness" (W.E.B. DuBois) of the black performer throughout history and the stereotypical roles dominating current popular black culture.

Through comedy, animation, theater, soul-stirring live music by Scott Patterson (with original compositions from Jonathan Melville Pratt, Brandon McCune, Kurt "KC" Clayton and Scott Patterson) and a poignantly retrospective dance vocabulary, "Mr. TOL E. RAncE" speaks to the issue of racial tolerance. Blending and contrasting the contemporary with the historic, the goal of this personal work is to engage, provoke and move the conversation of race forward in a timely dialogue about the past, present and future.

Inspired by the events of 2005's Hurricane Katrina, "New Second Line" is a celebration of the spirit and culture of the people of New Orleans. In New Orleans, traditional brass band parades are essential to weddings, social events, and most notably, funerals. The people who follow the parade, dancing with high energy and exuberance, are known as the "second line."

The Ordway and The O'Shaughnessy joined forces to bring Camille A. Brown & Dancers to Minnesota. "Recognizing the shared passions our institutions have for outreach, education and artist support, our decision to collaborate stemmed from the same core value - how to best service artists in the development and presentation of their work, and how to offer our community rich, varied choices of arts experiences that extend beyond the performance," said Kathleen Spehar, director of The O'Shaughnessy. "Together, we were able to combine resources and craft a robust residency experience for the dance company including additional technical time onstage for artists to continue developing their newest work, 'Black Girl: Linguistic Play'."

The week-long dance company residency includes four student matinees, a classroom visit, an open rehearsal for junior and high school students, a master class and the February 21 public performance.

Tickets for Camille A. Brown & Dancers are $15-$39 with discounts for students, seniors, MPR members and military. For more information and tickets, contact The O'Shaughnessy Ticket Office at 651-690-6700; business hours are Mon.-Fri. 12-5p.m.; through the month of January; normal business hours resume February 2, Mon.-Sat., 12-7p.m.; the ticket office is located on the main campus of St. Catherine University at 2004 Randolph Ave., Saint Paul. Tickets can also be purchased online at oshag.stkate.edu/event/camille-a-brown.