Performing Arts Spotlight: The Opulence of Integrity

“To be born branded by history, burdened by responsibility and inspired toward greatness requires a committed heart and an opulence of integrity.”

—Christal Brown

As part Middlebury’s Black History Month celebration, our very own Assistant Professor of Dance Christal Brown will be producing her original dance-theatre work, The Opulence of Integrity, Feb. 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall Theater. The performance promises to act as a thought-provoking catalyst for dialogue in our current campus climate.

The piece uses the career of Muhammad Ali, and his life as a social activist, public martyr and human being, to explore the struggle for identity faced by many men of color in the United States, with a special focus on the social, economic and spiritual trappings that continually prohibit freedom.

According to Brown, the performance incorporates elements of boxing, hip hop, martials arts and modern dance to “deploy an eclectic movement vernacular” that illustrates “the turmoil of a life infused by divinity, yet misinterpreted by humanity.”

Brown has designed the piece as four movements that each reflect a different period in Ali’s life. The first section is meant to depict, as she put it, “the cultural shift between that of Malcolm X to Muhammad Ali, how Ali came under Malcolm’s tutelage and became this other kind of cultural icon in his own right.”

The second is “more along the lines of legendary Ali, at the time where Ali was treated more like a superhero than that of a real person.” Movement three, “No Vietnamese Ever Called Me N*gger,” invokes Ali’s refusal to participate in the Vietnam War. The final section references “the transcendent nature of who Ali has become in the lives of people as a cultural icon, as a historical figure, as a boxer, as a man and as the legend that he lives as today.”

Throughout the performance, movement and text connect with both traditional and nontraditional dance audiences. In addition to the live artists, a projection plays in the background, creating another level of engagement. And of course, the show’s inspiration is a living legend who will draw viewers into seeing the parallels of war, resistance and perseverance through a historical lens.

Christal Brown is a choreographer, educator, performer, writer and activist. She received her BFA in dance and minor in business from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In addition to teaching at the College, Brown is the founder and executive director of INSPIRIT, a performance ensemble and educational conglomerate dedicated to bringing female choreographers together to collaborate and show new work. The Opulence of Integrity is Brown’s first foray into working with an all-male ensemble.

She dedicates the work “to her father, brother, and uncle — who fought but did not win — and to her own son, whose battle has not yet begun.”

“I think one thing that I really want people to take away after seeing the piece is for them to find their own opulence in life, to find out what they can do to the fullest, to think about how integral that is to who they are and never let go of that,” Brown stated. “I think that’s one thing we’ve gleaned from the legacy of Ali, that he held onto what his truth was, no matter what.”

Two public performances of The Opulence of Integrity will be presented on Feb. 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall Theater.  Tickets are $15 for students. Visit go/boxoffice or stop by McCullough or the MCA to book yours now.