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By Sabrina Petrelli;@sabrinapetrelli on Instagram
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Published on November 26, 2025
EVIDENCE, A Dance Company. Photo courtesy of Company
Artistic Director: Ronald K. Brown
Associate Artistic Director: Arcell Cabuag
Dancers: Demetrius Burns, Austin Warren Coats, Khalia Campbell, Aaliyah Fisher, Micah Isaiah, Samiyah Lynnice, Spirit Priester, Lena Psalms, Amina Lydia Vargas, Malcolm Miles Young
Technical Director Resident Lighting Designer: Tsubasa Kamei
Rehearsal Director: Demetrius Burns
Performance: November 15, 2025
The Billie Holiday Theatre in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn is energized. In this space, years ago, Ronald K. Brown took his first dance lesson and tonight it’s especially meaningful that he proudly celebrates his company’s 40th anniversary here.
Before the performance begins, NY State Assembly Member Stephanie Zimman thanks Brown for touching countless hearts and minds over the decades. When Brown walks onstage supported by a cane and accompanied by longtime associate Arcell Cabuag, the audience rises in appreciation. Brown is a moving reminder of endurance, legacy, and unwavering devotion to the arts.
The dancing commences with Open Door, originally choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2015. Amina Lydia Vargas steps forward in a flowing black and red dress, a red flower in her hair, all adding to the Latin flair of the soundtrack “La Puerta” by Luis Demetrio.
Whipping her skirt through the air with each spiral and extension, Vargas glides effortlessly, her lifted chin and focused expression reveal a deep desire. Demetrius Burns joins Vargas performing the same movement vocabulary, but offering a more grounded interpretation. Their duet evolves into a beautiful conversation of contrast and complement.
Khalia Campbell takes the stage next in a solo from Brown’s seminal choreography Grace. First appearing in silhouette before stepping into the light, Campbell emerges framed by a soft blue glow, clothed in white. She is statuesque, divine, and poised. Grace traces a goddess’s journey to Earth as she spreads spiritual mercy and guides earth dwellers toward heaven. Campbell’s gentle side-to-side steps, wing-like arm curves, and subtle shoulder undulations create an atmosphere of quiet power which invite the audience into her realm.
One Shot, inspired by the prominent, African-American photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris (nicknamed "One Shot" because he rarely took retakes) offers a shift in tone. Depicting love, community, and Black life in mid-20th-century Pittsburgh, Harris captured intimate portraits of the joy, struggle, and neighborhood celebration. One Shot draws directly from Harris’s ability to find beauty and authenticity in ordinary moments.The piece unfolds through duets filled with smiles, handholding, and slow dancing.
A plethora of jazz and soul artists, including Lena Horne and McCoy Tyner, provide the soundtrack. The lightness of the music’s lyrics “like someone in love,” and “old friend” support a playful atmosphere. Projected images of children soften the stage with nostalgia, innocence, and joy. The dancers repeat turns that somehow feel fresh each time they’re performed. It’s as though the movement radiates from the deepest part of each artist. One Shot closes with the dancers kneeling before a portrait of Harris in a moment of reverence.
The evening concludes with a tribute to the legacy of the 20th century Black activist, Marcus Garvey in the exuberant Percussive Bittersweet. Evidence’s ensemble of dancers bursts onto the stage in red, black and green costumes, inhabiting the three colors of the Pan-African flag, a symbol of Black unity and pride. The company dances in circles evocative of community, ritual, and celebration.
At first, suspended jumps contrast playfully with the high kicks and fast footwork. A striking shift occurs when the lights dim and the dancers emerge one by one, walking with grounded heaviness, their gestures indicative of struggle and the weight of history, as they contemplate Garvey’s death.
As the lights rise again, the performers appear dressed in flowing white outfits. The color white introduces a visual language of purity, healing, ancestors, and passage into the spiritual realm. Shaking and rattling their fabric in unison, they fill the stage with motion, rhythm, and triumph.
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