Brownbody

In Residence, August 10 - 15
Performance August 12 | Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena

Grounded in African diasporic perspectives, Brownbody’s mission is to build artistic experiences that disrupt biased narratives and prompt audiences to engage as active participants in the journey. Brownbody accomplishes this through a blend of modern dance, theater, social justice, and figure skating.

While in residence at The Yard, BrownBody will present Tracing Sacred Steps, which  blends modern dance, figure skating, and Ring Shout. In her essay, “Hoodoo Religion and American Dance Traditions: Rethinking the Ring Shout”, Katrina Hazzard states: “It was from the African sacred circle, that the first truly African American dance was born: the ‘Ring Shout.’”

Tracing Sacred Steps engages elements of Ring Shout to illustrate how it continues to serve as a pathway to healing within so many Black spaces. It illustrates how this practice continues to be relevant, pays homage to these important cultural rituals, and its practitioners: forcibly displaced Africans that found a way, amidst grave adversity, to work towards restoration and wholeness. TSS features an all-Black cast of four professional skating artists and actor/vocalist Thomasina Petrus.

For more please visit

Website: www.brownbody.org/
Instagram: @movingbrownbody
Facebook: /Brownbody-612643048879972
Twitter: @movingbrownbody

If planning to attend a performance or class please review our Covid and Box Office policies.