Q&A with Clifton Brown,
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The yearly visit by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is one of the Auditorium Theatre’s most highly anticipated events. The May performances at the Auditorium will feature 4 Chicago premieres, including Reminiscin’. Choreographed by Artistic Director Judith Jamison, Reminiscin’ was inspired by Edward Hopper’s painting Nighthawks, which hangs in the Art Institute of Chicago.
We recently were able to chat by phone with Clifton Brown, one of the Ailey dancers. Here are the highlights of our discussion:
What is the story of Reminiscin’?
The story is not so much a narrative. It’s about a group of friends who are in and out of relationships with one another, romantic relationships - about dynamics within the group of friends that are in this particular diner. It’s a diner setting. The feeling is people coming into a diner after a night out partying and having fun and what goes on in this diner. You hear the theme in the music – the music is classic standards by female jazz vocalists like Sarah Vaughan, Diana Krall and Ella Fitzgerald.
In addition to dancing in this piece, you also served as the choreography assistant. What did that involve?
That basically means that Ms. Jamison would set the choreography of the phrase and I would learn it. Then she would manipulate it and when she had what she wanted, the way she wanted it, then I would teach that phrase to the other dancers. It’s kind of like a middleman position.
What other pieces will you be dancing in Chicago?
I’m not sure my exact performance schedule in Chicago yet. I perform all of the pieces: each piece that we do has 2 or more casts at least. Masazumi Chaya, our Associate Artistic Director, is really good at casting each performance so that each dancer gets a certain amount of rest time, so that none of us dance every piece every night. We alternate casts. We also need to have multiple casts in case of injuries, illness or something else coming up unexpectedly, so that we have all our bases covered.
What is your background? How long have you been with Alvin Ailey?
I’m from Goodyear, AZ. I started dancing when I was 4 years old because of my grandmother, she wanted me to have something constructive to do, something that would help my physical coordination. I was a clumsy child. I took classes at a local studio, acrobatics, jazz and tap. I moved on to ballet when I was older, started modern dance in high school. I loved it the whole time I was doing it.
I went to the Ailey/Fordham BFA dance program during its first year in existence. After a year I decided that I’d been dancing for so long I didn’t want to be in school anymore. I auditioned for the company and Ms. Jamison invited me to join. That was seven years ago.
What’s it like to spend so much of your time on tour?
We’re on tour seven months out of the year, off and on. It has positives and negatives. It’s hard to be away from home and people you love, but you get to experience so much - seeing new cultures and experience different things.
What were some of your favorite tour stops?
I loved Athens, and Greece in general. And Palermo, Italy – we’re going back to Italy this year and I’m excited about seeing a few more cities there. And Vienna was another great place.
You were nominated for Best Male Dancer in the UK in January – how did that come about?
The Company performed in England in September, we did a UK tour. That’s how I was nominated – from those performances.
You are the dancer pictured on all of this year’s marketing materials – flyers, ads, postcards, etc. Does it ever feel odd to walk by a huge poster outside of a theatre and see this picture of yourself?
At first it was really strange. The more I see the picture the less I feel it’s me, and the more it’s just a picture. It gets less strange, more like I’m seeing another picture for the Ailey company.
What is it like to work with Ailey Artistic Director Judith Jamison? How has she influenced your work?
Ms. Jamison is such an inspiration as far as her performing career and the insight she has on stage presence. That’s one thing I’m always trying to improve upon, having a theatrical presence on stage. That’s something she has immensely – so much inspiration as far as portraying a human on stage. That’s just one of the many things I’ve learned from her. She is someone who feeds, teaches and nurtures the dancers.
In addition to spending quite a bit of time performing at the Auditorium, what are your other plans for your time in Chicago?
I don’t know for sure yet. Now that I found out that the Nighthawks painting is there, I’ll definitely have to go see it.
Anything else you want our patrons to know – especially those who haven’t seen Ailey perform?
There’s something for everyone with an Ailey performance. Our repertoire is diverse. There’s always something to relate to. It’s a very human experience, from humans on stage to humans in the audience. No matter what you come expecting, you’ll enjoy your time with us.
Photos by Andrew Eccles.
