Five dancers. Three are in white and two are in red. They are standing in different poses, and one is jumping in the background. They are in a studio with grey walls.

Repertory

Grace

CHOREOGRAPHER

WORLD PREMIERE

New York City Center, 1999

ASSISTANTS TO CHOREOGRAPHER

Angelica Patterson, Telly Fowler

REHEARSAL ASSOCIATE FOR NEW PRODUCTION

Arcell Cabuag

MUSIC

Duke Ellington, Roy Davis, Fela Anikulapo Kuti

COSTUMES

Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya

ORIGINAL LIGHTING

William H. Grant III

LIGHTING FOR NEW PRODUCTION

Tsubasa Kamei

MUSICAL STYLE

Afrobeat, House, Jazz

RUN TIME

30 Minutes

Ronald K. Brown’s spellbinding Grace is a fervent tour-de-force depicting individuals on a journey to the promised land. Described by The New York Times as “astounding, something to be sensed as well as seen,” this spiritually charged work is a rapturous blend of modern dance and West African idioms.  As in many of Brown’s works, the movement alternates fluidly between extremes, with eruptions of power coupled with lightness. A serene solo for an angel-like figure in white gives way to fireball intensity as 12 dancers resembling contemporary warriors execute Brown’s whirling, pounding choreography—arms and legs slicing the air and fingers pointing to the sky. 
 
Brown’s varied music choices closely reflect the heart of the work, with the spiritual grounding of Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” the contemporary yet timeless house music vibe of Peven Everett's “Gabriel,” and the West African and African American traditions of Fela Kuti’s Afropop beats. 
 

See It Live

FUNDERS

This new production of Grace is supported by Maury & Joseph Bohan. The original production of Grace was provided by Natasha Leibel Levine, M.D. & Harlan B. Levine, M.D., and Elizabeth Marsteller Gordon. The creation of this work was made possible, in part, by AT&T, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and The Harkness Foundation for Dance.

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