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By Christine Jowers/Follow @cmmjowers on Instagram
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Published on April 2, 2013
DANCE UP CLOSE (preview) — in Rehearsal with Camille Brown & Dancers
Preparing for Mr. TOL E. RAncE at The Kitchen, April 2-6, 2013
video by Christine Jowers for The Dance Enthusiast
April 2nd 2013
For more video and Q+A on Mr. TOL E. RAncE on The Dance Enthusiast click here
For Tickets click here
"It started from a more personal feeling, feeling a sense of restriction and questioning whether, as an artist I had to play a game- this invisible game- whether I had to smile when I didn’t feel like smiling, or just put on a mask. Then I began to research. I had always been fascinated with minstrelsy and decided to dive into that. Also I had been fascinated with Dave Chappelle’s* story from The Chappelle Show. You know, he was offered 50 million dollars and he turned that down. And, people are so critical, they said, 'He’s so crazy, why would he turn that down?' But I thought, being an artist myself, 'No, no he must have had some really serious struggles.” I started connecting the struggles that I had, to his, and those of other artists who have come before." Camille Brown
Camille A. Brown on MR. TOL E. RAncE
A Dance Enthusiast Minute of Motion
From The Kitchen's Website:
Camille A. Brown & Dancers:
Mr. TOL E. RAncE
April 2, 4–6, 8pm
Inspired by Spike Lee's controversial movie Bamboozled, and Mel Watkins's book On The Real Side: From Slavery to Chris Rock, Camille Brown's Mr. TOL E. RAncE celebrates the humor and perseverance of the black performer while examining stereotypes that still dominate popular Black culture. Through comedy, live original music, animation, theater, and poignantly retrospective dance vocabulary, Mr. TOL E. RAncE speaks as well to the issue of tolerance—addressing both what Black performers have tolerated in the past and the forms of modern-day minstrelsy we tolerate today. It is not a history lesson. Blending and contrasting the historical with the contemporary, this is a personal new work that strives to engage the community in a timely dialogue about where we have been, where we are, and where we might want to be. This show contains strong language and is not suitable for children.
A performance specifically for students will take place on April 3rd. For more information on this show contact tickets@camilleabrown.org
Each night will feature a post-performance discussion led by the following moderators:
April 2- Michael Eric Dyson (Author)
April 3- Stacey Muhammed (Filmmaker)
April 4- Baraka Sele (Consultant/Producer)
April 5- Dr. James Peterson (Scholar)
April 6- Kamilah Forbes (Director)
See our Earlier Interview with Video:Click Here
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