Imagine a world where anything is possible: for individuals, for communities. A world of self-actualization, of Black Joy, of cultural liberation. A universe of new ways of being.
Five-time Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown created I AM with inspiration from an unlikely source: an episode of HBO’s acclaimed sci-fi/horror series Lovecraft Country. Exploring self-discovery, unlimited potential, and the power that comes from asserting who you are, Brown weaves a world of African diasporic dance styles together into a joyful whole.
Live original music provides the soundtrack for this energetic, spontaneous, immersive, and powerful work.
Experience a 2025 New York Times Critic's Pick that the Berkshire Edge called “good for the soul.”
This production uses theatrical haze.
Dorse Brown
Mikhail Calliste
Nya Cymone Carter
Courtney Cook
Brianna Dawkins
Eboni Edwards
Mykal Kilgore
Kai Irby
Alain ‘Hurrikane’ Lauture
Chaz Ryan
Courtney Ross
Curtis Thomas
Travon Williams
Ms. Camille A. Brown will not be performing in this engagement.
Juliette Jones
Martine Mauro-Wade
Meech
I AM's movements, credits, and more
HOMECOMING
EXISTING
ELEVATION
THROWBACK #1
THROWBACK #2
CHANNELING
WE ARE BLACK GIRLS THAT CAN DANCE
THROWBACK #3
MUSICIANS JAM
I AM
RISE
ASCENSION
Lighting and Scenic Designer: David L. Arsenault
Sound Designer: Justin Ellington
Costume Designer: Ashley Soliman
Projection Designer: Aaron Rhyne
Playback Engineering & Synchronization Specialist: Enrico de Trizio
Music Director: Juliette Jones
Music Supervisor: Zane Mark
Lighting Supervisor: Alex Fetchko
Sound Supervisor: DJ Potts
Rehearsal Director: Mora-Amina Parker
Assistant to Choreographer: Jay Staten
Original Music By:
Deah Love Harriott, Juliette Jones, Jaylen Petinaud, Martine Mauro-Wade, Frédérique Gnaman, Monique Brooks Roberts
Music Credits:
“Beauty” by Dru Hill, “Optimistic” by Sounds of Blackness, “Crush On You” by Lil Kim ft Lil Cease, “Gypsy (La Da Dee) [Homeless] Women” by Crystal Waters, “I'll Be There For You / You're All I Need To Get By" by Method Man ft Mary J. Blige, “Papa Was A Rollin' Stone” by The Temptations, “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See” by Busta Rhymes.
Lead commissioning support for I AM has been provided by The Joyce Theater, Jacob's Pillow's Joan B. Hunter New Work Commission, the Meany Center for the Performing Arts, The Apollo, and The Prior Performing Arts Center at the College of the Holy Cross. The creation and presentation of I AM was made possible with major support from the Mellon Foundation and additional support from the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; the Princess Grace Foundation- USA; Masterwork Music and Art Foundation; the Harkness Foundation for Dance; Ford Foundation; the Howard Gilman Foundation, and the Shubert Foundation. Public support was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
I AM received creative development time and funding support for residencies through Jacob’s Pillow's Pillow Lab (Becket, MA) and the Catskill Mountain Foundation’s Orpheum Performing Arts Center (Tannersville, NY). The work also developed at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park (Tivoli, NY), PS21 Center for Contemporary Performance (Chatham, NY), Lake Placid Center for the Arts (Lake Placid, NY), The Ailey Studios, The Joan Weill Center for Dance (New York, NY), and Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York, NY).
You're Invited: Celebrity Series Book Club
Join fellow fans for food, drinks, and lively conversation at the Celebrity Series office before opening night of I AM. We'll talk about the book Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora by Joanna Dee Das and the questions that it raises about creativity and culture. Performance tickets not required.
“The joy of ‘I AM’ is the joy of being entirely yourself, entirely present in the moment. We are here, Brown and the performers seem to say — and we’ll keep being here, together, dancing into the future.”
The New York Times
An American Masters (PBS) short film
These performances are also made possible in part by support from Celebrity Series' Amy & Joshua Boger Innovation Fund.
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
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