Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE – Ife: My Heart & Four Corners

Presented as part of Edges of Ailey, the mission of EVIDENCE is to promote understanding of the human experience in the African diaspora through dance and storytelling and to provide sensory connections to history and tradition through music, movement, and spoken word, leading deeper into issues of spirituality, community responsibility, and liberation. Ronald K. Brown’s Ife: My Heart was built as the journey of three families traveling to one destination, the temple of God, a place where the heart was open. Originally choreographed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2005, the work looks at the parallel journey of three traditions towards love or “ife” (loving one another the way God loves us). With costumes that reference the U.S., Cuba, and West Africa, the piece implores each of us to “release your heart” in response to the conflicts and conditions in the world and in our personal relationships. Four Corners brings to life the vision of four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds, and trails the dancers as they embark upon a powerful and hope-filled journey of tribulation, devotion, and triumph.