Interview: Ever Busy Director/Choreographer Camille A. Brown On Creating INK & More

Debbie Allen presents Camille A. Brown & Dancers: ink January 12th and 13th at The Wallis. ink “explores self-empowerment, Black love, brotherhood, and resilience that examines aspects of Black life that are too often appropriated, rewritten, or silenced.” I had the chance to chat with director/choreographer Camille A. Brown before her flying from New York to her Wallis rehearsals.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Camille!

What cosmic force first brought you into the creative universe of Debbie Allen?

Oh, ‘CUSE me!

I remember watching Fame on TV, and just her presence and her power. It just was something that has struck me and has stuck in me my entire life and continue to do so. Through high school, when we were asked about our inspiration, Debbie Allen was always the person that I would write about. She's been someone that I've been inspired by for a very, very long time.

I just remember a famous line where she's walking around with her stick. She's saying, ‘You’ve got big dreams? You want fame? Well, fame costs. And right here is where you start paying. With sweat.’

Is it easy to juggle your responsibilities to Camille A. Brown & Dancers with your various choreographic and directorial work?

It is not easy, but I have a tremendous team that helps me continue to do it. It's definitely a challenge. When I told people I was interested in pursuing a career in theater and commercial work, along with sustaining my company, I was told either I shouldn't do it or it's going to be hard to do.

It definitely is a challenge because it's almost like doing two different careers. Being a director and choreographer in commercial work and then running your own dance company, those are completely two different things and they both need 100% to do.

In order to do that, I have a team for my company. I have an executive director, a company manager, an executive producer, an operations manager. I have a whole unit that is working to help sustain the company while I'm working on a project.

What factors led you to choose ink for this Wallis production?

It was a combination of what the presenters were interested in seeing and what I wanted to show. I’m currently working on a new work called I Am, so that's exciting. But ink is the last piece that I choreographed for my company. That was in 2017. Bringing something that is the most recent was something that I think both the presenters and I thought was a great idea.

Has your choreography for ink changed since its’ 2017 premiere?

What's different will be the people. When we did it last year and 2022 at the Apollo; that was the original company, including myself. This time in L.A., it's going to be different dancers who are going to be doing ink, which is incredible. The structure is the same, but when people put their creative identity into it, hopefully, it becomes part of who they are. So you'll see the same stories, but you'll see them delivered through different bodies and different people that have different experiences. That's the difference between 2017 and what you'll see in L.A. It'll be completely new people giving their offerings to the show.

You won't be dancing in this production.

I will not be dancing in this production.

You'll be offstage. Rooting everybody on.

You got it!

Do you find choreographing uses the same mental muscles as teaching and directing?

I haven't taught in a very long time. I made this decision, ‘Okay, I want to focus on two main things: my company and my theatre career.’ Commissions and teaching were things that I had to put aside.

I believe that there’s certain muscles that need to be worked for both, being the choreographer of a company and a director for show. Then there's some that need different muscles. Now as the choreographer for my company, I am also the director, too. I'm functioning as someone that is holding the vision, the story, working with collaborators, It's the same thing. It's just in a different arena.

Do you prefer one over the other?

I'm asked all the time which one do I like more. Do I have a favorite? And I don't. I'm in both of these worlds because they both bring something to me. They allow me to grow and have a perspective, have a vision. Show my vision for stories and storytelling in different ways, different avenues, different audiences. And so I live in between the two.

What inspired you to create Camille A. Brown & Dancers in 2006?

Woah! I don't know. It's a complicated story, but I was just doing my show in 2006. I wasn't even thinking about me having a company. I tried to pursue this choreography thing. I was starting to show my work to audiences and getting it out there. And people said, ‘Well, you have to have a name. You can't just have a show’. So I said, ‘Okay. Camille A. Brown & Dancers.’

I had a couple of shows throughout the years, and then it wasn't until 2011 where I felt like, ‘Okay, I really want to lean into creating and having a company creating my own voice, my own language, my own process with dancers who have really dedicated their time to working with me.’ Around 2011 is when I really cemented the idea of having a company.

Is there one specific lesson you learned from working with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre?

‘Bring joy into the space.’ Earl Mosley was one of my teachers at Alvin Ailey. He was one of the first teachers I had to at the Ailey school. Everything was about community and joy and friendship and celebration of who we were as individuals. So shout-out to Earl.

What do you remember of moment you found out you were nominated for a Tony Award for your choreography for Choir Boy in 2019?

I remember one of my best friends calling me and telling me that I was nominated and I was like, ‘WWhaat???’ And he screamed, ‘You were nominated for a Tony!’ And I said, ‘Oh, my gosh! Then I started getting calls, and then it was just a day of ‘Oh, my goodness!’ It was tremendous. It was unexpected. It was definitely unexpected.

How did it feel to be the first Black female to be nominated for Tonys as both director and choreographer for for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf in 2022?

I was just trying not to embarrass myself. Having the opportunity to direct and choreograph on Broadway was something that I didn't even think was possible for me to do. I look to Dianne McIntyre and Marlies Yearby, all these Black women that have choreographed on Broadway. To be given the chance to do it is tremendous.

It's a lot of pressure. I've already put pressure on myself, but I felt like there was a lot of pressure. The stakes were so high but when those nominations came out, it was just, ‘Wow! Wow!’ I was just trying to do the best that I could. I knew this was a show that was dearly beloved and is over 40 years old. There's so many people that have known it, and I've seen it. I know people were interested in what I had to say and it's just like, ‘Camille, just make sure that whatever you have to say is coming from you, coming from the truth of you and honesty.’ And that's really all I was thinking. So the fact that I was acknowledged in that way as not only choreographer but also director, my first time out directing and being on Broadway was just phenomenal.

What’s in the near future for Camille A. Brown & Dancers?

Yeah! We're working on a new piece called I Am. It’s inspired by the sounds and the rhythms of the movie Drumline and HBCU marching bands. Also the show Lovecraft Country, a series that was on HBO. There was one episode called I Am.

So I'm using that. And I use this episode as inspiration for my vision behind for colored girls, too. It's just carrying it over and bringing it into my company. Just what does it mean for us to step into ourselves and name ourselves? I am. And then name yourself.

We're working on that. We will have a world premiere this summer. And we have a couple of residencies leading up to it.

What’s in the near future for Camille A. Brown?

Yeah! Hopefully more directing opportunities.

I’m In talks now with people, so that's really exciting. It's in the opera world, it’s in the theater world. So I love that my career's continuing to expand, and hopefully I have more film and television opportunities as well.

Thank you again, Camille! I look forward to experiencing ink.

For tickets for the January 12th or 13th performances of ink, click on the button below:

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