Wiley Hausam, Director
Daniel Gurskis, Dean, College of the Arts
PEAK Performances presents
Camille A. Brown & Dancers
I Am
Thu., February 12, 2026, 7:30pm
ALEXANDER KASSER THEATER
Staff and Creative Team
Directed and Choreographed by Camille A. Brown
in collaboration with the dancers and musicians of Camille A. Brown & Dancers
Rehearsal Director Mora-Amina Parker
Assistant to Choreographer Jay Staten
Dancers Dorse Brown, Mikhail Calliste, Nya Cymone Carter, Courtney Cook, Brianna Dawkins, Jayah “Mooshi” Gomez, Kai Irby, Alain “Hurrikane” Lauture, Esosa Oviasil, Chaz Ryan, Courtney Ross, Saint Aubyn, Travon Williams
Original music by Deah Love Harriott, Juliette Jones, Jaylen Petinaud, Martine Mauro-Wade, Frédérique Gnaman, Monique Brooks Roberts
Musicians
Juliette Jones Violin
Martine Mauro-Wade Drums
Meech Piano
Casting subject to change
Music Credits: “Beauty” by Dru Hill, “Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness, “Crush on You” by Lil’ Kim ft. Lil’ Cease, “Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless) (La da dee la da da)” by Crystal Waters, “I’ll Be There for You/You’re All I Need to Get By” by Method Man ft. Mary J. Blige, “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone” by The Temptations, “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” by Busta Rhymes
Lighting and Scenic Designer David L. Arsenault
Sound Designer Justin Ellington
Costume Designer Ashley Soliman
Projection Designer Aaron Rhyne
Playback Engineering and Synchronization Specialist Enrico de Trizio
Music Director Juliette Jones
Music Supervisor Zane Mark
Production Stage Manager Robert McIntyre
Lighting Supervisor Alex Fetchko
Sound Supervisor DJ Potts
Sound Engineer Isaiah Howell
Wardrobe Supervisor Amy Page
General Manager Leticia D. Baratta
“Homecoming”
“Existing”
“Elevation”
“Throwback #1”
“Throwback #2”
“Channeling”
“We Are Black Girls that Can Dance”
“Throwback #3”
“Musicians Jam”
“I AM”
“Rise”
“Ascension”
Program
Running Time: 60 minutes, no intermission.
“Every story I create, creates me. I write to create myself.”—Octavia Butler
About I AM
Continuing her explorations of Black joy, director and choreographer Camille A. Brown creates a new work for her company that launches new queries into the possibilities of imagination—and boldly investigates the future.
While Brown has often disrupted our understanding of the past, in this new work, she imagines a creative space for cultural liberation—conjuring new ways of being in this world. Pulling from themes found in the “I AM” episode of the HBO series Lovecraft Country, this new work picks up where ink left off by blasting us into the universe where anything is possible and features various dance genres of the African Diaspora.
A Note from Theresa Ruth Howard
Choreographer and director Camille A. Brown has built an expansive and lauded career in dance, spanning multiple genres: concert, commercial, and musical theater. Through dance and storytelling, her work celebrates and recontextualizes African American culture—its profundity, complexity, and brilliance—while paying homage to its diasporic DNA.
In 2012, Brown embarked on what would be an artistic pilgrimage to choreograph the narrative of African American humanity. Mr. TOL E. RAncE (2012), BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play (2015), and ink (2017) took audiences on a journey from oppression to liberation; I AM is the fourth installment of this body of work. It is a love letter expressed through the body, written in the diasporic languages of West African dance, Modern, Jazz, Tap, Social, Street, and Hip-Hop styles. Brown choreographs the spectrum of humanity, transporting audiences to the playground, the street, “da club,” and the church, where dancers physicalize the experience of “speaking in tongues.”
I AM is a music concert that nixes the headliner and places its powerhouse dancers in the spotlight. The score blends original compositions with reinterpreted R&B hits from the ’90s by artists like Lil’ Kim, Busta Rhymes, Method Man, and Mary J. Blige. These tracks are transformed for classical violin and juxtaposed with the percussion of drums and piano, creating a soundscape that is both evocative and hauntingly reverent.
The audience is invited into a nostalgic game of “name that tune,” while the interpretations subvert musical hierarchies and challenge the prescribed rules of “high art.” This cognitive dissonance engages listeners on multiple levels. Brown’s nods to cultural traditions like HBCU drumlines and majorettes, the smooth moves of R&B singing groups like Gladys Knight and the Pips or TLC, and iconic music videos like Busta’s “Keep Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” are a sweet homage Black creative expression.
Audience members will want to stomp, snap, and sing along—and they should! In the Africanist tradition of “call and response,” I AM fosters an active, dynamic conversation between the dancers, musicians, and the audience.
I AM demands that each performer bring forth their fullest, most authentic expression of self—their power, strength, vulnerability, or sexual identity. It celebrates unison without uniformity, standing together in individuality and becoming stronger in the process. I AM holds a mirror to the culture, urging it to recognize its beauty. Most importantly, it exercises the power of self-definition, determination, and self-possession.
Theresa Ruth Howard is a writer, consultant, public speaker, and founder of Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet (MoBBallet).
Program Notes
Lead commissioning support for I AM has been provided by The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow’s Joan B. Hunter New Work Commission, the Meany Center for the Performing Arts, The Apollo, and The Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross. The creation and presentation of I AM was made possible with major support from the Mellon Foundation and additional support from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; the Princess Grace Foundation-USA; Masterwork Music and Art Foundation; the Harkness Foundation for Dance; Ford Foundation; the Howard Gilman Foundation; and the Shubert Foundation. Public support was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
I AM received creative development time and funding support for residencies through Jacob’s Pillow’s Pillow Lab (Becket, MA) and the Catskill Mountain Foundation’s Orpheum Performing Arts Center (Tannersville, NY). The work also developed at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (Tivoli, NY), PS21 Center for Contemporary Performance (Chatham, NY), Lake Placid Center for the Arts (Lake Placid, NY), The Ailey Studios, The Joan Weill Center for Dance (New York, NY), and Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York, NY).
Funding Credits
Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD) is a Bessie Award–winning, New York City–based dance company that soars through history and contemporary stories like a whirlwind. Recognized for blending modern, hip-hop, African, tap, and social dance to forge riveting works that ripple with energy, urgency, and powerful theatricality, CABD reclaims Black narratives through historically informed, thought-provoking repertory on race, culture, and identity.
Founded in 2006, the Company is a collective of dancers, musicians, and collaborators who perform highly theatrical works—bridging Camille A. Brown’s work in theater, concert, dance, and opera. It is here where everything meets. CABD has toured its repertory with live music to cities in the US, including the Kennedy Center, Jacob’s Pillow, American Dance Festival, the Apollo Theater, the Joyce Theater, ASU/Gammage, the Ahmanson Center, Juniata College, the Yard, the Egg, and Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, among others. Internationally, the Company has performed for the Belfast Dance Festival and NYU/Abu Dhabi. CABD performs for 20,000+ people and serves 5,000+ engagement participants annually through free community programs that elevate African diaspora aesthetics.
In May 2020, CABD launched its Social Dance for Social Change virtual school, which offered free online artist/scholar lectures by notable speakers and social dance classes, led by Company dancers, throughout the pandemic. The virtual school received a nomination from Broadway Black for Best Quarantine Content, serving 98,000 participants worldwide.
The Company’s trilogy, which includes the Bessie-winning Mr. TOL E. RAncE (2012), Bessie-nominated BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play (2015), and the highly acclaimed ink (2017), was performed at the Apollo and the Joyce Theater in New York City, in a historic two-week celebration, and at Duke University.
Most recently, the Company’s latest work, I AM, received its world premiere at Jacob’s Pillow in 2024 and New York premiere at the Joyce Theater in 2025. The show was a New York Times Critic’s pick and received Bessie nominations for Best Choreography and Best Sound Design.
“We are here, Brown and the performers seem to say—and we’ll keep being here, together, dancing into the future.” —The New York Times
For more information on Camille A. Brown & Dancers, please visit camilleabrown.org
About the Company
About the Artists
Photo by Whitney Browne
Camille A. Brown (Artistic Director/Choreographer)
“Not since pioneer choreographer and dancer Katherine Dunham has a Black woman matched such prodigious productivity.”
— Zita Allen, The Amsterdam News
Camille A. Brown is a prolific Black female director and choreographer whose work taps into both ancestral and contemporary stories to capture a range of deeply personal experiences and cultural narratives of African American identity. Through the medium of dance, she is successfully balancing careers in stage, TV, and film. She is the artistic director and founder of her company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers (CABD). Her trilogy on race, culture, and identity has won accolades: Mr. TOL E. RAncE (2012) was honored with a Bessie Award in 2014 and a 2023 Bessie Award nomination for Outstanding Revival; BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play (2015) was Bessie-nominated; and ink (2017) premiered at the Kennedy Center, was performed at the Apollo Theater in 2022, and has received critical acclaim. In 2026, CABD will celebrate its 20th anniversary!
Founded in 2014 with its flagship initiative Black Girl Spectrum, CABD’s community engagement platform, EVERY BODY MOVE (EBM), uses social dance to inspire collective action and drive social change. Extending Camille A. Brown & Dancers’ artistic vision beyond the stage, EBM fosters creativity through workshops, intensives, educational experiences, public events, and celebrations for people of all abilities. Originally launched in NYC public schools, EBM now offers intergenerational programs nationwide.
In 2022, Brown made her Broadway directorial debut for the Broadway revival of for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, making her the first Black woman to direct and choreograph a Broadway play since Katherine Dunham in 1955. The production received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Direction of a Play and Best Choreography for Brown. The show also received a nomination for Best Revival. The New York Times proclaimed the production “triumphant.” Brown received a 2022 Drama League Award nomination for Best Direction, and the show received a nomination for Outstanding Revival of a Play. Brown also received the 2023 Broadway Black Award for Best Direction. Within the same season, Brown became the first Black artist at the Metropolitan Opera to direct a mainstage production, co-directing alongside James Robinson on Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones (2021), which she also choreographed. The production was included in the New York Times “Best Dance of 2021” list. Fire was triumphantly brought back to the MET again the 2024 spring season. Also at the Metropolitan Opera, she choreographed Porgy and Bess and Terence Blanchard’s Champion. Brown’s first musical for theater was The Fortress of Solitude, directed by Daniel Aukin, written for stage by Itamar Moses, and with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. For Fortress, she received a Lortel nomination for Outstanding Choreographer. She received the Audelco Award for Choreography for Much Ado about Nothing at Shakespeare in the Park. Her Broadway choreography debut was with A Streetcar Named Desire, followed by the Tony Award–winning musical Once on this Island. Brown has been nominated for five Tony awards including for Choir Boy, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf (Direction and Choreography), Hell’s Kitchen with music and lyrics written by Alicia Keys, and Gypsy. For Hell’s Kitchen, she also received her fourth Drama Desk nomination and won the Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Choreography and the Audelco Award for Best Choreographer. She is the recipient of the Obie Award for Sustained Achievement in Choreography. Her work has been featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, and the Tony Awards.
Brown’s film and TV work includes Harlem (seasons 1 & 3, Amazon Prime), the Oscar-winning Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix), Emmy award–winning Jesus Christ Superstar Live (NBC), New Year’s Eve in Rockefeller Center (NBC), and Google Arts & Culture (ink). Camille A. Brown: Giant Steps, co-directed by Michelle Parkerson and Shellée Haynesworth and produced by American Masters and Firelight Media, is now streaming on PBS. The documentary was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Short Form Documentary (Film).
Brown has received numerous awards including ISPA’s Distinguished Artist, the Dance Magazine Award, Emerson Collective Fellow, Guggenheim, Doris Duke Artist, Audelco, Princess Grace Statue Award, Jacob’s Pillow Award, New York City Center fellow, USA Jay Franke & David Herro fellow, TED fellow, Ford Foundation Art of Change, and Kennedy Center’s Next 50. She was honored at the New York Dance Lab Honors and received the Transformative Award from Harlem Stage. She was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2025. Brown’s election underscores the Academy’s recognition of the significant impact she has made on the arts and her dedication to using dance as a tool for social change. She also was awarded a Certificate of Contribution by World Burlesque Day.
Brown’s early training began at Bernice Johnson’s Cultural Arts Center, Devore Dance Center, and Fiorello LaGuardia High School. She received her BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. After graduation, she joined Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, where she danced from 2001 to 2006. During her time with the EVIDENCE, critics proclaimed Brown was “a stunner when she danced with Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE”—Fjord Review; “a powerhouse dancer with expansive reach and bravura.”—Maura Keefe; “the most startling discovery was Camille A. Brown, a pixie-ish powerhouse with the determined air of a high priestess.” She was a guest artist with Dianne McIntyre in 2008 and Rennie Harris in 2009.
Brown’s first commission as a choreographer was from Hubbard Street II in 2002, followed by commissions from Ailey II, Urban Bush Women, Philadanco, Ballet Memphis, the DanceNow Festival, and Harlem Stage’s E-moves series, among other opportunities. In 2006, Judith Jamison invited her to choreograph on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). She went on to dance in her own work (The Groove to Nobody’s Business) as a guest artist with AAADT in 2008 and set two more works on the Ailey company: her solo, The Evolution of a Secure Feminine in 2010 (originally choreographed in 2007) and City of Rain in 2019 (originally commissioned by the Joyce Theater in 2010).
Brown holds two honorary doctorates, from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Drew University, respectively.
In 2025, her company returned to the Joyce Theater with her latest work, I AM, following a successful premiere last year at Jacob’s Pillow and engagements at Holy Cross University and Arizona State University. The New York Times stamped it as a “critic’s pick” and declared, “Brown takes her signature interweaving of African diasporic dance forms to new heights.”
She returned to Broadway this past November for the revival of Gypsy, directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Audra McDonald. This is the first time new choreography has been done for a mainstem production. Her work was hailed as “a brilliant stroke of choreography” (USA Today) and “a consistent, inventive charm” (Daily Beast). Brown received her fifth Tony nomination as well as her fifth Drama Desk Award nomination for her original choreography in this production. Most recently, she directed a staged reading of Rajendra Ramoon Maharaj’s Sweet Lorraine. The play imagines the last conversation between icons and friends James Baldwin and Lorraine Hansberry. She is set to develop and direct a new commission by a.k. payne, Mouth of Mississippi, produced by National Black Theatre. Brown is the director and choreographer for the Broadway revival of Dreamgirls set to open fall 2026.
Mora-Amina Parker (Rehearsal Director) began working with Camille A. Brown in 2009 and currently serves as rehearsal director. Prior to her work with Brown, Parker was an esteemed member of Savage Jazz Dance Company, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and Philadanco. In addition to her commitment to her dance creation, staging, and performance, Parker is a PhD candidate drafting her dissertation, The Expressive Life-Worlds of Talley Beatty’s Choreographies: Embodiments of Afropessimism and Afrofuturism.
Jay Staten (Assistant to Choreographer), originally from Washington, DC, received his dance training at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. He holds a BFA from Marymount Manhattan College and has been an associate choreographer for productions like Toni Stone and the revival of Fire Shut Up in My Bones at the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Staten has showcased his talent as a soloist on Broadway in productions like After Midnight. His dance career includes dancing with Philadanco!, Donald Byrd’s Spectrum Dance Theatre, and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Staten has also made television appearances on shows like NBC’s Smash and Amici on Italian TV. He served as dance captain for Dreamgirls at Dallas Theatre Center, Bill T. Jones’s SuperFly The Musical, and opera’s Malcolm X. Additionally, he has participated in workshops for productions like Shuffle Along and Radio City Spring Spectacular.
CABD Dancers
Dorse Brown began his dance career at the age of seven in his hometown of Little Rock, AR. He graduated from the University of Memphis and appeared on the fifth season of So You Think You Can Dance. He is so honored to have danced with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company from 2011 to 2015. Brown has been contracted with Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Norwegian Cruise Line as a soloist. He was selected for the BronzeLens Film Festival and the Emerging Black Choreographer Incubator. This is his third season with Camille A. Brown and Dancers.
Mikhail Calliste, born in the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, never thought dance would become paramount within his life. Surrounded by a cultural amalgamation, Calliste’s fascination with movement sparked at a young age. Inspired by Carnival and traditional dances that showcased the island’s rich history, he discovered his “why.” Little did he know, this stepping stone would expose him to a limitless world. Moving to New York, Calliste discovered worlds of artistic opportunities, allowing him to experiment with movement near to his roots. With an unyielding passion, Calliste is driven to explore his artistic expression to its greatest levels.
Nya Cymone Carter is a proud alumna of the Cicely L. Tyson School of the Performing and Fine Arts in East Orange, NJ, where she first discovered her artistic voice and developed the discipline to refine her craft. Her early training laid the foundation for her professional debut as Young Nala in the national Gazelle Tour of Disney’s The Lion King at 10 years old. A graduate of Howard University with a BS in Sports Medicine, Carter weaves cultural consciousness into every facet of her work. She has been privileged to perform in works choreographed by Earl Mosley and Clifton Brown and has further grown as an artist through her involvement with Culture Shock DC. Carter is honored to be a company member with Camille A. Brown & Dancers—blessed to share and learn stories of Black experiences through movement, truth, and lived perspective. “There can be no love without justice.”—bell hooks. Choose Love.
Courtney J. Cook is a Virginia native now residing in Brooklyn, NY. She is a graduate of the Virginia Governor’s School of the Arts and holds a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. For 10 years, she served as a performing company member, BOLD facilitator, and later associate artistic director with Urban Bush Women (UBW). She is honored to be a recipient of the 2018 Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance for her work with UBW, Maria Bauman (MBDance), and Marguerite Hemmings (we free). In 2022, Cook was involved as performer/choreographic collaborator and vocalist in Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville, created by Baba Israel and Grace Galu Kalambay (Soul Inscribed). In fall of 2023, she made her debut performance with Houston Grand Opera as a dancer, commissioned with Urban Bush Women, in the world premiere of their latest opera, Intelligence. In 2024, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in John Adams’s El Niño, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz and choreographed by Marjani Forte-Saunders. She gives thanks and is thrilled to be continuing her journey as a performer with the CABD family! Asé.
Brianna Dawkins is a dance artist and choreographer from Prince George’s County, Maryland. She trained at the Washington Ballet at the ARC and Suitland High School. She recently graduated from George Mason University with a bachelor of fine arts in Dance Performance and Choreography with a minor in Arts Management. She has attended Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and Jacob’s Pillow summer programs on scholarship. Her choreographic works were presented at the International Association of Blacks in Dance and the Young Choreographer’s Festival. She has worked with Debbie Allen, Amanda Standard, Hope Boykin, Mora-Amina Parker, and Roger Jeffrey. She has performed in works choreographed by Robert Battle, Kyle Abraham, and Camille A. Brown.
Jayah “Mooshi” Gomez is a multidisciplinary artist of African American, Latina, and Caribbean descent, proudly hailing from Brooklyn, NY. She began dancing at age four and trained at Devore Dance Center in Hollis, Queens. Her training includes ballet, pointe, jazz, modern, hip-hop, tap, contemporary, and African dance. A December 2024 graduate of North Carolina Central University (HBCU), Gomez earned a double major in Theatre and Mass Communications with a concentration in Broadcast Media, along with a minor in Dance. Through dance, Gomez channels her cultural roots, creativity, and commitment to artistic excellence. She continues to explore the intersections of performance, media, and identity, using her craft to inspire, uplift, and connect communities.
Kai Irby, originally from St. Louis, MO, started dancing at the age of six. Irby has trained in most styles of dance, including ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz, and hip hop. While in St. Louis, Irby trained at COCA (Center of Creative Arts) and St. Louis Elite Dance Company under the direction of Jay Staten and Monique Smith. At age 16 Irby and her family relocated to Washington, DC. Her time in DC was spent strengthening her training in concert dance at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts studying under Sandra Fortune-Green, Charles Augins, Katherine Smith, and Nikki Sutton-Mackey. After high school, Irby earned her BFA at SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. During her time at Purchase, she trained in ballet, Graham, Horton, and Cunningham and also had the opportunity to work with Norbert De La Cruiz III, Kimberly Bartosik, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Cj (Claude Johnson), and Victor Quijada.
Alain “Hurrikane” Lauture, born in Haiti, is a performer and educator. His training includes Rhapsody James’s Motivating Excellence along with various training schools in New York City like Peridance and Broadway Dance Center. Now widely known in the underground scene for his impact as a “Locker,” Hurrikane carries his skills throughout his work in the industry, performing with artists like Janet Jackson and Madonna while also immersing himself in Broadway plays like Skeleton Crew and Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. He currently dances for LaTasha Barnes’s The Jazz Continuum and has been dancing with Camille A. Brown & Dancers for a year.
Esosa Oviasu was the associate movement director for Ogunquit Playhouse’s Da Vinci Code, associate choreographer for Broadway’s & Juliet, associate choreographer and dance captain for the Muny’s Bring It On, and featured dancer for the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway show Beyond Babel. He is currently a faculty member of Peridance Center, Broadway Dance Center, and Mover’s Bodega. He hopes to continue to push himself and his students to new heights, in a sustained journey for knowledge and growth.
Chaz Ryan is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Nashville, TN, now residing in Brooklyn, NY. His dance background reflects both the commercial and concert dance worlds: he has danced in the Nashville-based dance company Found Movement Group for five years and performed on big stages like the 2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show with The Weekend. In addition, Ryan is also an educator with experience teaching dance and performance art around the country in schools and dance studios, and a visual artist as well. His intention with any work is to always prioritize joy, liberation, and black tradition in his work.
Courtney Ross hails from New Orleans, LA. Ross earned her BFA with honors from the Ailey School/Fordham University. She has toured with Ailey II and later, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE. She has performed closely with Jon Batiste and Jemel McWilliams on the UNEASY National Tour. Other credits include associate choreographer of the Broadway revival of 1776 (choreographed by Jeffrey Page), Porgy and Bess (Metropolitan Opera), 2023 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (NBC), 2016 VMA’s: Beyoncé (MTV). Ross joined CABD in 2019. She gives thanks to God, her family, and chosen tribe for the unwavering support!
Saint Aubyn (he/him) is an artist who strives to entertain his audiences with hopes that they leave each and every performance feeling fulfilled. Credits include Broadway: Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations (for this role he’s been awarded the prestige of being a Grammy nominee); Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Regional/tours: Personality: The Lloyd Price Musical, Smokey Joe's Café (20th Anniversary Tour), Dreamgirls (Gallery Players and McCarter Theatre); Film/Television: Admissions, co-host of the Salute THEM Awards with Loni Love and Yo-Yo. He has also shared the stage with Patti Labelle!
Travon Williams (Chicago, IL) began his formal dance training in the Joffrey Community Engagement program under Pierre Lockett. He graduated from Chicago High School for the Arts and trained at the Chicago Multi-Cultural Dance Center, Ballet Chicago, and Deeply Rooted. Williams is also a graduate of the Ailey School Certificate Program, where he transitioned into Ailey II and became a guest artist with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. He also was a dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. He has performed works by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Amy Hall, William Forsythe, Kevin Iega, Camille A. Brown, Yusha-Marie Sorzano, Omar Román de Jesús, Alvin Ailey, and Martha Graham. He has also performed in Fire Shut Up in My Bones at the Metropolitan Opera. Williams also appeared on sSeason 2 of the hit television show Legendary on HBO Max.
CABD Musicians
Juliette Jones (Music Director/Violin) is a multi-genre violinist and founder of Wondersmith Entertainment, a Black-owned, bespoke entertainment company specializing in music contracting and coordination, music preparation, live performance, and studio recording. Under the company, Jones has scored, recorded, and contracted for a number of live and televised events including the People’s Choice Awards, NBC’s Grammy-nominated and Emmy award–winning broadcast of Jesus Christ Superstar Live, and the Oscar-nominated film Mudbound. A graduate of the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, Jones has performed with a veritable list of “who’s who” including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Billie Eilish, H.E.R., and Lady Gaga.
Martine G. Mauro-Wade (Drummer) recently returned to Broadway as the drum set substitute for Alicia Keys’s 13-time Tony-nominated musical, Hell’s Kitchen. He debuted on Broadway in 2022 with director/choreographer Camille A. Brown’s seven-time Tony-nominated revival of for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. Mauro-Wade has held staff positions with NYU Tisch, Purchase College Conservatory of Dance, and the José Limón Dance Foundation. A graduate of the Collective School of Music’s Drummers Collective, Mauro-Wade earned his bachelor of music in Jazz Studies from Purchase College. Mentors include Peter Retzlaff, Ian Froman, and Kenny Washington.
Meech (Pianist) is a professional keyboardist whose journey with music began when he was a toddler. His versatility has taken him from church services to arenas, performing across gospel, hip-hop, and R&B. He has worked with legendary artists including Lauryn Hill, A Boogie, and T-Pain while also playing for gospel greats such as Donnie McClurkin, JJ Hairston, Kim Burrell, and Jonathan McReynolds. Known for his soulful touch and adaptability, he continues to bring excellence and authenticity to every stage.
David L. Arsenault (Lighting and Scenic Designer), previously collaborated with CABD on ink. Arsenault’s work as a designer and associate in theater, opera, and dance has been seen on Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally. Regional credits include designs at the Kennedy Center, Bay Street Theater, Kitchen Theatre Company, Geva Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Northern Stage, and George Street Playhouse. Broadway associate work includes The Color Purple (2015 Tony-winning revival and tour), Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and King Charles III.
Justin Ellington (Sound Designer), an award-winning sound designer, is pleased to join Camille A. Brown & Dancers in this beautiful piece titled I AM. Ellington provided sound design for ink and has served as pianist for BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play. Broadway credits include Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, The Cottage, Ohio State Murders, Topdog/Underdog, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, Clyde’s, Pass Over, and Other Desert Cities. Ellington has been awarded by the American Society of Composers and Publishers as well as the Recording Academy for his work in the recording industry. A passionate educator, Ellington has served as an artist-in-residence at Princeton, NYU, and Southern Methodist University. Ellington is currently on the faculty of Yale University as a lecturer in sound design. Ellington is a proud member of the American Society of Composers and Publishers, United Scenic Artist local 829, and Kobalt Music Group.
Zane Mark (Music Supervisor) is a composer, orchestrator, and arranger with credits in a wide range of musical venues in addition to his distinguished Broadway career. He co-wrote the Tony- and Grammy award–nominated music for the award-winning musical Bring in ’da Noise, Bring in ’da Funk. Some of his other Broadway credits include Mrs. Doubtfire the Musical, The Cher Show, Holler If Ya Hear Me, Motown the Musical, Pippin, Leap of Faith, All Shook Up, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Never Gonna Dance, and The Full Monty. Mark served as the associate musical supervisor for NBC’s The Wiz Live! as well as dance music arranger for Annie Live!. Mark also was a musical contributor for the Civil Rights Museum in Atlanta, the play Smart People, and the films Rosenwald, The Dancer Chronicles, and HBO’s Lackawanna Blues.
Aaron Rhyne’s (Projection Designer) designs include Broadway: for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, The Sound Inside, Anastasia, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and Bonnie and Clyde; TV: Hasan Minhaj: The King’s Jester; Opera: The Thirteenth Child (Santa Fe Opera), The Ghosts of Versailles (LA Opera), La Traviata (Wolf Trap), Florencia en el Amazonas (Florida Grand, Opera Colorado); Disney: Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Tangled, and multiple other productions for Disney Cruise Lines, Parks and Resorts; and Ballet: Septime Webre’s The Wizard of Oz, and The Sun Also Rises (Washington Ballet).
Ashley Soliman (Costume Designer) is based in New York City and was selected as one of Broadway Women’s Fund’s 2023 “Women to Watch on Broadway.” I AM marks her debut with Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Credits include David (AMT Theater), The Cunning Little Vixen (Curtis Institute), Angel Island (BAM and Beth Morrison Projects), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (MSM), REDEEMED and Your Name Means Dream (CATF), Double Helix (Bay Street Theater), The Rake’s Progress (Juilliard), Do You Love the Dark? (The Alliance), and Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun (Santa Fe Opera). Assistant costume designer credits include Coal Country (The Public, des. Jessica Jahn). Soliman is a Local 829 member.
Enrico de Trizio (Playback Engineering and Synchronization Specialist) is an Italian-made, New York City–based award-winning composer, sound designer, music producer, and electronic music designer. His genre-bending work has been featured worldwide, from the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Cuba to Franco Dragone’s Splendor in Wuxi, China, and on Broadway in Tony-winning shows such as Dear Evan Hansen, Alicia Keys’s Hell’s Kitchen, and The Outsiders. Apple describes him as “part of a new wave of electronic music designers that have changed the way Broadway sounds.”
Creative Team
Robert McIntyre (Production Stage Manager) is originally from Scranton, PA, and works all over the northeast region in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, upstate New York, and New York City freelancing in theater and dance. McIntyre holds a BS dual degree in Business Management and Technical Theater from East Stroudsburg University of PA, where he graduated in 2012. He has had the opportunity to intern at Williamstown Theatre Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, where he has served as the production coordinator for their Inside/Out Series. McIntyre has been the stage manager for Stephen Petronio Dance Company, TAKE Dance, Gallim Dance, Encompass New Opera Theatre, Keely Garfield Dance, and Damage Dance. Recently, he lit the Student Company and Dance for PD at Mark Morris Dance Group.
Alex Fetchko (Lighting Supervisor) is a New York City–based lighting designer and assistant. Credits include Broadway: Chicken & Biscuits; Touring: An Officer and a Gentleman; Off-Broadway: Selling Kabul (Playwrights Horizons); Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven (Atlantic Theater Co.); Hurricane Diane (New York Theatre Workshop); Sakina’s Restaurant (Audible); Broadbend, Arkansas (Transport Group); and The Sickness (Varda Productions); Regional: Ogunquit Playhouse, Goodnight Nobody, Gloria: A Life (McCarter Theatre), Summer’s Soldier (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Red Velvet (Office of War Info), Beckett in Brief (Commonwealth Shakespeare Co.), and A Little Night Music (Huntington Theatre Co.).
DJ Potts (Sound Supervisor) is a sound artist based in Harlem. Recent design credits include Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine (CTC), Open Call (The Shed), King James (Vermont Northern Stage), and Kunene and the King (Shakespeare Theatre Company). Broadway associate sound designer credits include An Enemy of the People, Jaja’s African Hair Braiding, Topdog/Underdog, Clyde’s, and others. His works have also been heard Off-Broadway and regionally at the La Jolla Playhouse, the Drama League of NYC, the Here Arts Center, the Shed, the historic Apollo Theater, and several other venues.
Isaiah Howell (Sound Engineer) is a freelance A1/Engineer based out of the New York City area; they're super stoked to join the CABD team.
Amy Page (Wardrobe Supervisor) is a costume creator and wardrobe supervisor who has worked in dance for many years. Her costumes are in the repertory of Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M., Dance Theatre of Harlem, Dorrance Dance, and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. As a wardrobe supervisor, Page oversaw many productions at the Mostly Mozart and White Light festivals at Lincoln Center, as well as many touring companies who graced the Joyce Theater stage. She has toured with Ballet Hispanico, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Dorrance Dance, Mark Morris Dance Group, and Philadanco. On Broadway she has had the pleasure of dressing Tatiana Maslany in Network, as well as the casts of Hamilton and Hadestown. In the television world, she worked as a costume fitter on the last three seasons of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She holds a BFA from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
Leticia D. Baratta (General Manager) has been associated with the company since 2019, first serving as director of finance and operations before returning in her current role as company manager. Born in New York and raised from coast to coast, she has produced, stage managed, and company managed on five continents for organizations including Alessandra Ferri Dance, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Ballet Folklórico de México de Amalia Hernández, BAM (Jonathan Miller’s St. Matthew Passion), Batsheva Dance Company, DanceBrazil, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Limón Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet (Olivier Award for its London season), and Trisha Brown Dance Company. As a presenter, she has worked with a wide array of artists and companies, among them Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Celia Cruz, Itzhak Perlman, Bette Midler, and the St. Petersburg Ice Ballet, presenting countless performances of dance, music, opera, ice skating, and puppetry.
Production Team
The Lighting and Scenic Designer is represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE.
Camille A. Brown & Dancers is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization.
Donations are greatly appreciated and may be made payable to CABD, INC. and mailed to:
CABD, Inc./Camille A. Brown & Dancers
PO Box 340600, Jamaica, NY 11434
or online at: www.camilleabrown.org
Camille A. Brown & Dancers Staff
Camille A. Brown – Founder & Artistic Director
Catherine Williams – Director of Development/Incoming Executive Director
Mora-Amina Parker – Rehearsal Director
Catherine Foster - Director of Community Engagement & Education
Paige Heurtin – Director of Finance and Operations
Leticia D. Baratta – General Manager
Gwendolyn Baum – Social Media Manager
Patrice Golbourne – Artistic Programs Associate
Paulo Hernandez-Farella – Development Associate
Robert McIntyre – Production Stage Manager
Alex Fetchko – Lighting Supervisor
DJ Potts – Sound Supervisor
Amy Page – Wardrobe Supervisor
Camille A. Brown & Dancers Board of Directors
Dr. Diane Johnson, Interim Chair
Paloma McGregor, Treasurer
Ariel Bedford
Courtney A. Bennett
Nadia Nascimento
For more information on Camille A. Brown & Dancers, please visit
www.camilleabrown.org
CONTACT
For Booking Camille A. Brown & Dancers
Concert Dance Agent
Margaret Selby Selby/Artists Management
262 West 38th Street, Suite 1701
New York, NY 10018
mselby@selbyartistsmgmt.com
( 212) 382-3260
For Commercial Theater/Film/TV Bookings
Joe Machota
Creative Artists Agency (CAA)
joe.machota@caa.com
(212) 277-9000
www.caa.com
Gilda Squire
Squire Media & Management Inc.
gilda@gildasquire.com
Mia Booker Sease-Bey
Squire Media & Management Inc.
squiremediamgt2@gmail.com
FOLLOW US & SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS!
Camille A. Brown (Artist Page)
@CamilleABrown
#CABDTheater
#inkitup
Production Gallery
PEAK Performances
Wiley Hausam | Director
Taliyah Bethea | Marketing Assistant
Susan Case | Program Book Coordinator
Patrick Flood | Graphic Designer, Art Director
Cheryl Duncan | Media Consultant
Martin Halo | Website Development
Michael Landes | Student Outreach Coordinator
Peg Schuler-Armstrong | General Manager
Jacob Stepansky | Company Manager
Hannah Walker | Interim Marketing Manager
Blake Zidell Associates | Media Representative
College of the Arts
Daniel Gurskis | Dean
Ronald L. Sharps | Associate Dean
Christine Lemesianou | Associate Dean
Amanda Gonzalez Carcione | Assistant Dean
Zacrah S. Battle | College Administrator
Nicole Archer | Chairperson, Department of Art and Design
Shea Scruggs | Director, John J. Cali School of Music
Kathleen Kelley | Chairperson, Department of Theatre and Dance
Wiley Hausam | Director, Arts + Cultural Programming
Hillery Makatura | Director, Performance Operations
Patricia Piroh | Director, Broadcast and Media Operations
Megan C. Austin | Director, University Galleries
Staff Credits
College of the Arts
Performance Operations
Hillery Makatura | Director
Cubby Terry | Facilities and Events Manager
Marlene Hamm | Interim Production Manager
Colin Van Horn | Technical Director
Kevin Johnson | Senior Production Engineer
Jason Flamos | Lighting Supervisor
Laurel Brolly | Business Manager
Jeff Lambert Wingfield | Box Office Manager
Jade Thomas | Patron Services Manager
Rayne Collins | Front of House Coordinator
Aboubacar Cisse, Abigail Drueding, Jacqueline Mancia Hernandez, Shantel Maysonett, Ashley Wallis | Lead Ushers, Season 2025–26
Andrea Armando, Riona Askins, Aboubacar Cisse, Jacqueline Mancia Hernandez, Audrey Lassanske, Shantel Maysonett, Ben Renfrow | Box Office Lead Associates, Season 2025–26
We respectfully acknowledge that Montclair State University occupies land in Lenapehoking, the traditional and expropriated territory of the Lenape. As a state institution, we recognize and support the sovereignty of New Jersey’s three state-recognized tribes: the Ramapough Lenape, Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape, and Powhatan Renape nations. We recognize the sovereign nations of the Lenape diaspora elsewhere in North America, as well as other Indigenous individuals and communities now residing in New Jersey. By offering this land acknowledgement, we commit to addressing the historical legacies of Indigenous dispossession and dismantling practices of erasure that persist today. We recognize the resilience and persistence of contemporary Indigenous communities and their role in educating all of us about justice, equity, and the stewardship of the land throughout the generations.
Programs in this season were made possible, in part, by the Alexander Kasser Theater Endowment Fund and PEAK Patrons.
PEAK Performances develops, presents, and produces a broad range of world-class dance, film, master classes, music, opera and music theater, talks, and theater in the Alexander Kasser Theater on the campus of Montclair State University for students, faculty, staff, and the general public. We are building community through live performance. PEAK Performances is a program of the university’s Arts + Cultural Programming Department.