Living Legacy | May 15 - 21, 2022
The Equality of Night and Day (TEND)
Living Legacy Artist Ronald K. Brown and his company EVIDENCE came to MANCC for the first time to further his work The Equality of Night and Day (TEND). TEND examines the concepts of balance, equity, and fairness as it considers the conflicting present-day issues that young people, women, and people of color now face in a world where exploitation, gentrification, racism, and xenophobia are on the rise. The shift in public discourse anchors this new piece.
Celebrated for his pioneering artistry that has portrayed the struggles, tragedies, and triumphs of the African American community through dance for over 35 years, TEND builds on Brown’s work Mercy (2019) and completes an evening-length trilogy that also includes Grace (1999), which was first commissioned for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
In addition to a large ensemble of dancers and company Lighting Designer, Set Designer, and Technical Director Tsubasa Kamei who joined Brown at MANCC, collaborators to the work include jazz pianist and composer Jason Moran, racial justice advocate Angela Davis, African American photography expert Deborah Willis, and costume designer Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya .
At MANCC, Brown worked in collaboration with the EVIDENCE dancers and Kamei to rehearse and hone production elements of the work. Dancers worked in the dance studio as Kamei utilized the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre to test various approaches to projection and lighting. The residency culminated in a live-streamed showing of the work in progress in the Theatre. Brown will premiere TEND at Jacob’s Pillow in Beckett, MA on June 29th.
Maggie Allesee
