In Ron Brown’s dance, the telling takes us home
It’s confession time: although I’ve become an increasingly passionate devotee of contemporary dance, I still have a decided penchant for narrative dance as opposed to more abstract work that celebrates the human form in movement for movement’s sake. In last evening’s PCA-presented Ronald K. Brown/Evidence dance performance at Merrill, we were treated to three works that ranged in succession from the obtuse and oft-challenging “One Shot” to the riveting, transcendent storytelling of “Order My Steps” and “High Life,” replete with the narrative brilliance that is the hallmark of choreographer Brown’s best work.
In “Order My Steps,” Brown offered a “dance poem” about a man seeking order in his life while struggling to keep his demons – oppression, insecurity, rejection, drug abuse – at bay. The dance was inspired by Psalm 119 (“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me”) and set to glorious music, including Bob Marley’s “War/No More Trouble” and “Exodus” and the Kronos Quartet’s exquisite renderings of Terry O’Riley’s “Echoes of Primordial Time” and “Mongolian Winds.” In sometimes propulsive, sometimes pensive movement that evoked traditional African dance, classical movement, and the improvisational gestures of the streets, the Evidence dancers swept us along on one man’s journey through confrontation, struggle, and the possible liberation to be found in a “Promised Land” of one’s own making.
“High Life” capped an extraordinary evening of dance that began on a somewhat rocky note with the technical woes, abstract movement, and disconnect between the projected images and dancers that bedeviled “One Shot.” Mesmerizing and engaging in its evocation of the African diaspora, “High Life” used a breathtaking array of dance styles, ranging from traditional African to balletic, swing, ballroom, and hip-hop, to document the travails of the journey into bondage and slavery in the American South and the subsequent venture northward in search of work, opportunity, acceptance, and community in the cities of Chicago, Detroit, and the industrial heartland. Music from Fela Kuti, Oscar Brown Jr., and the JB Horns, and poetry by Nikki Giovanni provided the soundtrack for a lyrical and deeply moving story of farewells and hellos, remorse and remembrance, acceptance and determination. “High Life” was a stunning work that sent me off into the streets of Portland full of thoughts about the human potential for cruelty, self-affirmation, reconciliation, and redemption. Such is the genius of Ronald K. Brown’s storytelling powers and the beauty of the Evidence dancers as together they illuminate the human spirit in all of its complexities.
dolores Broberg says:
I found the performance stirring and evokative. After initial puzzlement, I realized that these were stories told of the heart - that the movements were the storyteller’s emotions and not necessarily what mine would be. Of course that is what seeing into the lives and thought s of others is all about.
Janet Gunn says:
An inspired and inspiring review, but let me add a few more unmediated responses about three of the principals: the chunky lady, the short fellow, and lanky Ron. All of them danced themselves to (and even beyond) their physical limits, especially Ron all of whose joint connections must have been replaced by rubber, especially the joints connecting his hands and wrists.
What exhilaration!
Bob Hanson says:
The dancers were gifted. They choreography left a great deal to be desired. Dance must tell the story and in this instance there didn’t seem to be any story.
Rosalind Gerst says:
I, personally, was a bit disappointed in the show. I’m a devotee of dance of any kind, but felt the variety shown last night was lacking. It all kind of blended together for me.
Jules says:
I would love to get a playlist of the music that the Ron Brown dancers danced to. Not just the names of the composers, but the actual name of the pieces.
Patty Morris says:
I’m SO jealous! That looks like it was a FABULOUS show! I wanted to thank you again for the ticket donation to the show, which we were happy to raffle as part of our Cystic Fibrosis Fundraiser at the Big Easy on March 21. The person who won the raffle was THRILLED and really looking forward to the show when I checked with her last - I hope to talk with her soon to get her feedback (I have no doubt she loved it!). Thanks again, Tom and all at PCA, for your helping with our cause with tickets to such a wonderful event!