Ronald K. Brown's dance company, Evidence, to perform a new work inspired by the music and legacy of Nina Simone March 11-12

MIDDLEBURY, Vt.?Contemporary dance sensation Ronald K. Brown brings his New York-based dance troupe, Evidence, to Middlebury College for performances at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, March 11-12, in the Center for the Arts Dance Theatre. While at Middlebury, Brown will also conduct a master class and an open rehearsal.

At each of the performances, Evidence will offer two pieces, one of which is Brown’s new work, “Come Ye,” inspired by the music and legacy of blues diva Nina Simone. “Come Ye” explores the themes of the legendary singer-songwriter’s recordings, including activism, determination and liberation. The second work, “Walking Out the Dark,” melds dance and prose in the form of poems and letters Brown wrote after his mother’s death in 1996. The musical score for the second work was created by jazz artist Philip Hamilton, a 1982 graduate of Middlebury College.

Born in Brooklyn, Brown founded Evidence in 1985. Since then, the company has performed at numerous venues in New York, such as Performance Space 122, Dance Theater Workshop, and the Joyce Theater, as well as other locations and festivals across the United States and abroad, including the American Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

The New York Times in 2002 called Brown “one of the most quietly profound choreographers of his modern-dance generation.” The power of Brown’s creations stem from his blending of cultures and styles. Evidence’s trademark forms are a fusion of influences from the U.S., the Caribbean and West Africa; in interviews, Brown has cited Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Cuba and Western traditions, including ballet, as specific sources of inspiration.

“Evidence and Ron K. Brown were thoroughly original,” wrote a reviewer at The Maui News. “It’s as if Brown took every dance form .. and melded them into one exuberant, energetic and joyous style.”

Through dance, Brown tells stories that touch on history, spiritual journeys, transformations, and diversity. “Keeping dance and art connected to people, making it an