Mercy, Grace, and The Equality of Night and Day: First Glimpse

Hailed as a “modern dance savior” by the New York Times, Ronald K. Brown returns to fuse the form, rhythm, and history of African dance with contemporary and urban dance styles.

In Mercy, a Kennedy Center co-commission (the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, Carolina Performing Arts, UNC Chapel Hill, and The Joyce Theater’s Stephen and Cathy Weinroth Fund for New York), Brown finds an ideal collaborator in visionary vocalist, composer, and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello. In their first collaboration, Brown’s choreography fuses with Ndegeocello’s music to focus on compassion—which leads one to have mercy. As Ndegeocello performs live, dancers embark on a physical journey toward justice that resolves in joy and surrender.

In the wildly popular Grace—originally choreographed in 1999 for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and now considered a masterpiece in the Ailey repertory—Brown sets his signature style to the music of Duke Ellington, Roy Davis Jr., Fela Kuti, Jimmy McPhail, and Jennifer Holliday.

The Equality of Night and Day: First Glimpse is a new work by Brown examining balance, equity, and fairness for young people, women, and people of color in a world of exploitation, gentrification, racism, and xenophobia. Kennedy Center Artistic Director for Jazz Jason Moran offers an original score featuring spoken word by educator and activist Angela Davis.