With her work on the Met鈥檚 recent hit stagings of the Gershwins鈥� Porgy and Bess and Terence Blanchard鈥檚 Fire Shut Up in My Bones, director-choreographer Camille A. Brown has made dance a central part of the storytelling. As Fire was concluding its run and rehearsals got underway for Porgy鈥檚 first revival since its 2019鈥�20 run, a trio of talented dancers involved in both productions reflected on Brown鈥檚 creative process and discussed how, in her hands, movement becomes a powerfully expressive tool.
鈥淐amille鈥檚 the choreographer, and sometimes the director, but she鈥檚 also a collaborator. She leads the room, but she also leaves opportunity for us to make choices,鈥� says dancer Christopher Figaro Jackson, who not only appeared in the Met鈥檚 production of Porgy and Bess in 2019 but also returned to Catfish Row when the opera was revived this week and just finished setting the stage ablaze in performances of Fire Shut Up in My Bones this fall. In addition to his roles on stage, Jackson is part of the 16-person choreography team鈥攁longside fellow Fire veterans Maleek Washington and J艒van Dansberry鈥攔esponsible for getting 鈥檚 vivid choreography for Porgy back on its feet this season.
Washington and Jackson have performed with Brown鈥檚 company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, for more than a decade, but for Dansberry, a member of the Met Ballet since 2014, Porgy and Bess was his first opportunity to work with the visionary choreographer. All three agree that working with Brown on Porgy held special significance for them, explaining how she was able to share some fundamental aspects of Black culture with Met audiences for the first time. 鈥淎t the Met, every night is something different, and I love putting on many different characters, but it鈥檚 even more fulfilling to be in a piece that I can relate so much to,鈥� says Dansberry, who, with Jackson, is an assistant choreographer for this season鈥檚 revival and also dances in the opera. 鈥淐amille brings movement that is so embedded in our culture and who we are as individuals, and makes it a core part of the production.鈥�
Brown鈥檚 choreography for Porgy combines contemporary dance with historically informed gestures, but she also encourages the performers to bring pieces of themselves onto the stage, telling them, 鈥淭he dancer you were yesterday is not the dancer you are today. Every day is going to change you, so let me see that evolution reflected in how you move.鈥� Washington, the associate choreographer, says that this approach was evident in 2019, recalling an early movement workshop in which Brown used dance and shared gestures to bind the cast together. 鈥淪he told everyone鈥攖he dancers and the chorus鈥攖o show her how we would express joy, sorrow, how we would pray. All of a sudden, everything shifted,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 got goosebumps and thought, 鈥榃ow, we have a show.鈥欌�
The result for the performers is a deeply authentic, deeply personal experience鈥攐ne which Dansberry felt even more strongly appearing in Fire Shut Up in My Bones. 鈥淎s a queer Black man, I鈥檝e never felt so connected to a story,鈥� he says. Washington also points out the effect it can have on the audience. 鈥淲hen a story is treated so authentically with so much care, especially about someone鈥檚 actual life,鈥� he says, 鈥渋t sends the message that at the Met, we want everyone here, and we want all their stories told.鈥�
It鈥檚 been a thrill and a privilege for the team to follow in Brown鈥檚 footsteps and oversee this season鈥檚 revival. 鈥淚t feels like coming home. There was so much energy and excitement around this production when it premiered two years ago, so it鈥檚 been great to return to it and also make some new fresh choices,鈥� says Dansberry. For Washington, recreating Brown鈥檚 choreography has been an act of re-stitching. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like something鈥檚 unraveled after not being touched for a while, and we just have to put it back together,鈥� he says. 鈥淪o much has happened to all of us in the last few years, so our job is to use that to re-root the work we did two years ago so that it remains fresh鈥攆or the dancers, the singers, and the audience.鈥�
Porgy and Bess in on stage at the Metropolitan Opera now through December 12.
