From Feb. 5-9, award-winning choreographer and director Camille A. Brown returns to the Joyce Theater with the New York premiere of her latest work, “I AM,” which has been called an exploration of Black joy that imagines a creative space for cultural liberation and launches queries into the possibilities of imagination that boldly investigate the future.
“I AM,” which is said to blast us into a universe where anything is possible through various African diasporic dance and music genres, was inspired by the drama television series “Lovecraft County” and the rhythms of the movie “Drumline,” and a concept that builds on Brown’s 2017 work “ink.” The evening-long piece features the amazing members of Camille A. Brown & Company propelled by the captivating original and live music of Deah Love Harriott, Juliette Jones, Jaylen Petinaud, and Martine Wade.
Brown has created such memorable works for her company as the critically acclaimed trilogy on race, culture, and identity, “Mr. TOL E. RAncE” (2012), “BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play” (2015), and “ink” (2017). Also, with her 2022 Broadway directorial debut for the revival of Ntozake Shange’s brilliant “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf,” Brown became the first Black woman to direct and choreograph a Broadway show since Katherine Dunham in 1955. Since, she has gone on to choreograph Alicia Keys’ “Hell’s Kitchen” and the musical “Gypsy,” adding them to an amazing roster which also includes being the first Black artist at the Metropolitan Opera to direct a mainstage production, co-directing alongside James Robinson on Terence Blanchard’s “Fire Shot Up in My Bones” (2021 and 2024) which she also choreographed. She also choreographed the Met’s recent production of “Porgy & Bess,” and Terence Blanchard’s “Champion,” and much, much more. Not since pioneer choreographer and dancer Katherine Dunham has a Black woman matched such prodigious productivity.
During a recent interview with the Amsterdam News, Brown spoke specifically about the upcoming performance of “I AM,” whose declarative title evokes the feel of a thoughtful creative manifesto about the power of Black life-worlds and self-representation. It might also be said to share with her other work a unique ability to draw on ancestral and contemporary stories to capture a range of deeply personal experiences that capture universally relevant cultural narratives of African American identity.
AmNews: Tell us what “I AM” is about.
CB: This is my fourth evening-length work for my company. For ink (2017), the dancers end jumping in the air. This is to depict flight. Thinking about this new work, I asked the question: “Where do we go from here?” “I AM” is about being in flight and experiencing the journey of the unknown. “How do we move through space?” “ink” was the celebration of Black culture. This theme continues in “I AM” through the dancers and musicians. We are celebrating who we are, how we move, and the culture. I wanted to lead with joy and show the different manifestations of Black Joy. Some pieces start out with struggle in order to get to the joy. I have done pieces like that myself, but this time, I wanted to start out with joy and take it higher. “I AM” is inspired by an episode of the HBO series, “Lovecraft Country” called “I AM.” The show takes place during segregation, and in this episode, we see a Black woman (Hippolyta) go through the multiverse. As she travels, she begins to get stronger, find her joy, and comes to name herself. I was profoundly moved by the idea of naming yourself — how that looks and how that feels. I also aligned it with my own personal journey as a director, a choreographer and a Black woman in this business. I have to name myself and claim my “I AM.”
AN: Some of your work has a collaborative feel. Would you say that is true of “I AM” as well?
CB: Absolutely. I am in collaboration with the dancers, musicians, and creative team. We are naming ourselves through composition. We are connecting to our ancestry. Hopefully, people see the world we are tapping into.
AN: What do you want the audience to come away feeling about this piece and the statement it makes and how that relates to their lives and also your own life, which has been amazing, by the way?
CB: I’m very clear about where I am and the spaces that I’m holding and yes, there’s pressure. There’s pressure I put on myself, of course. I know that it’s never just about me. Never. I am representing something in these rooms whether it’s as a woman, as a Black woman, as a Black person. I’m thrilled to be able to do what I love doing and I’m really happy that I stuck to it and didn’t allow other people’s opinions to deter me.
Back in 2017, I was teaching in News Orleans for the NOBA Foundation. While I was there, my agent called to give me an update about a choreography position I was up for. When he called, I was between classes so I ran outside to take his call. When he gave me the news that I didn’t get it, I started crying. I was not in the space to teach class, but I gave myself a couple minutes and pulled myself together. After class, the students wanted to take pictures and selfies. I was still down but said, ‘Of course.” I took a pic with one young Black girl who said “Thank you” afterwards. When she was walking away, I saw her stop and look at the picture, and then look at me. She looked at me like I look at my sheroes. I thought to myself, “Camille, you have to pull it together. This young girl has no idea about your rejection, and in her world, YOU ARE.” I couldn’t let her down. I can’t let me down.
AN: Speaking of yourself as a representational role model for other young Black and Brown girls, is your community-based program Black Girl Spectrum still going strong? It was such a wonderful way to encourage young girls to be all they could be.
CB: Yes, It’s now under the name Every Body Move. I made a big umbrella because we were growing at such a fast pace. We have Black Girl Spectrum, Black Men Moving, and other programs that serve the community.
I don’t want to speak for people so I don’t think it’s appropriate for me to talk about what I mean to others. I have been told many nice things. My goal is to always “do me” and not be deterred. I want to continue sharing stories through my lens and never let go of my joy.
All I can do is create, put it out there, and let people respond. For me, “I AM” is where I am now, in 2025, at 45 years old, and having been in this industry for over 25 years. This is who “I AM,” as a Black woman. This is, FUBU, For us By Us, but it’s also up to the audience to decide what the “I AM” is.
Visit www.joyce.org for more info.