Brand Associates Dance Series
The Brand Associates Dance Series, curated by acclaimed choreographer, teacher and producer Jamie Nichols, presents top dance companies from Southern California performing site-specific work in non-traditional performance spaces around Brand Library & Art Center. This series began in the 1960s as part of the Brand Library & Art Center's mission to promote all aspects of Art.
Performances run between 60 - 90 minutes without intermission. Admission is free.
Sponsored by the Brand Associates.
2023 Dance Series
Megill & Company
Saturday, April 29, 5:00pm
Megill & Company is a unique dance theater company comprised of notation literate dance artists who utilize dance notation and theory to conceive and document their repertory. Choreographer and Artistic Director Beth Megill challenges the norm by making dances that are anti-sensational, subdued, quirky, and absurdist in order to highlight the complexities of the human experience. The company’s performance at Brand Library, “Odd Birds,” is a 50-minute family-friendly, highly theatrical, and infectiously joyous performance set to a mix of original and popular music. The choreography by Beth Megill blends classical dance technique with quirky jazz styling and playful narratives that appeal to the young as well as the young at heart. “Odd Birds” is another opportunity for each of us to connect with ourselves, each other, and the world, and foster our dance community to unite, heal, and grow.
Psychopomp Dance Theater
Saturday, May 6, 5:00pm
Psychopomp Dance Theater is grounded in visceral movement exploring social issues through the structure of Jewish culture and thought. Weaving creativity and community as a form of resistance is a key element of the company’s work. Psychopomp’s work pushes the limits of athleticism and storytelling while remaining grounded in virtuosic dance technique through a ritualistic mental rigor. The movement style is rooted in complex floorwork, acrobatic parkour movements and draws traveling techniques from Horton and Limon. Director Shenandoah Harris’ ancestral heritage of collaboration and discourse informs the culture of Psychopomp. Psychopomp’s performance at Brand Library will include six eclectic dance artists exploring the cyclical nature of ancient Jewish texts. Psychopomp strives to engage the general public more deeply with the art of dance through shared choreographic process as a way to investigate and learn more about our communities. (Photo by George Simian.)
Kenneth Walker Dance Project (KWDP)
Saturday, May 13, 5:00pm
Kenneth Walker Dance Project (KWDP) is a contemporary ballet company. KWDP is classical vernacular with modern sensibilities, as diverse as the community it serves. The company takes an extensive view of what Contemporary Ballet is: a dance form that is both entertaining and enlightening. The works performed are highly eclectic and display Kenneth Walker's diverse taste in music and movement style. The sheer breadth and style of contemporary ballet this company performs runs the gamut from neo-classical to post-modern performances that are sublime, athletic, quirky, and entertaining. This eclecticism gives the company a range of repertoire not usually seen in single choreographer companies.
Bernard Brown/bbmoves
Saturday, May 20, 5:00pm
Bernard Brown/bbmoves, founded in 2014, began as a call to action. Inspired by arts and social justice movements of the past and present, Bernard Brown/bbmoves aims to serve as a conduit for the oppressed to express their voices. Melding African Diasporic movement and postmodern sensibilities, the company’s mission is to create and present dance theater performance and educational engagement that welcomes and challenges the audiences (and collaborators) to collectively celebrate the diverse, intersectional richness across the African Diaspora, interrogate systems that seek to marginalize communities, and conspire for a clearer understanding of our shared humanity. At Brand Library, Bernard Brown/bbmoves will present a mixed repertory, site-responsive performance entitled “Bricks, Sugar and Box.” Witnesses will experience excerpts from the upcoming evening length work, “Processing Sugar Notes,” exploring themes of intimacy and resistance; a first look at “Mason,” an homage to groundbreaking philanthropist and midwife, Biddy Mason, and Black women everywhere; and a company signature work, “Box,” a solo meditating on Black liberation.