{"id":171391725,"date":"2025-11-20T07:46:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T12:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediamax.design\/gia\/?post_type=review&p=171391725"},"modified":"2025-11-20T07:46:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T12:46:36","slug":"a-review-of-camille-a-browns-i-am","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/mediamax.design\/gia\/review\/a-review-of-camille-a-browns-i-am\/","title":{"rendered":"A Review of Camille A. Brown\u2019s I AM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Presented by Celebrity Series of Boston at the Cutler Majestic Theatre, Boston \u2014 November 14, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I AM<\/strong><\/em> reveals what becomes possible when artists refuse political and social constraints and claim their full ascent\u2014for themselves, for their communities, and for all of us. Bringing together African diasporic movement languages\u2014hip-hop, body percussion, social, street styles, and tap\u2014the dancers, strong and agile, expend boundless energy as they draw us in from the very first moment, when two powerful female performers step into center stage against a projection of radiant sun rays, signaling the universe, ancestry, and a shared light.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there, the ensemble of dancers sustains this momentum. Their collective presence seems to declare: We rise strong\u2014individually and as a community\u2014beyond the prison of narrow-minded thought and action.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The spoken lines,\u00a0\u201cYou are not in prison,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cName yourself,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0form a bold assertion of liberation and self-determination. Clean aesthetic choices, high production values, complex polyrhythms, vocalizations, and audience engagement\u2014sparked through subtle cues such as a glance or a gesture\u2014sustain a joyous intensity between the dancers and the audience. Beautiful, poignant, and layered, the work\u2019s live music, screen projections, and use of everyday clothing as costume deepen this narrative as an unwavering assertion of\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t need your validation to be who I am.\u201d<\/em>\u00a0It is yet another feather in Brown\u2019s illustrious career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit: Robert Torres\/ Brianna Dawkins and Eboni Edwards (horiz) in I AM by Camille A. Brown & Dancers.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I AM<\/em>\u00a0has its audience nodding, tapping, clapping, whistling, and whooping. It entertains, educates, elevates\u2014and it challenges. For dancers like me, trained in South Asian traditions that often seek refuge in spiritual narratives that feel \u201csafe\u201d to high-art gatekeepers and in politically neutral spaces, Camille A. Brown\u2019s work reveals the power of art made with courage, conviction, and vulnerability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo Credit : Robert Torres\/ Alain Hurrikane Lauture and Dorse Brown in Iam By Camille A. brown & Dancers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A end of this power-infused performance, I was left wondering: How might South Asian dance evolve if a few choreographers and artists dared to boldly give form\u2014without metaphors and analogies\u2014to whispered political opinions and ideas of governance in today\u2019s increasingly authoritarian world?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Bold Assertion of Selfhood and Determination by Anita Vallabh<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":171391726,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"review-category":[13],"class_list":["post-171391725","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","review-category-global-us-performance"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t