Who

Brown is a modern dancer and choreographer whose earthy work is filled with references to hip hop, ballet and African dance styles.

Backstory

Brown's great-uncle, a Pentecostal minister, founded the Trinity Zion Pentecostal Church of Christ in Brooklyn. That's where Brown was raised and where he worshipped as a child, and all that religion clearly made an impression: Brown's most famous piece is Grace, a work set to thumping house music mixed with a gospel score. Brown started up his own company, Evidence, in 1985 at the age of 19. In 1987, Judith Jamison saw Brown perform in a commercial and asked him to create a dance for the Alvin Ailey Company. Since then, Brown has choreographed a number of pieces for the company, and Evidence is now a fixture at theaters around town such as the Joyce. His dances draw from African, Latin American and Caribbean movement styles, as well as hip-hop, and are set to music as diverse as Fela Kuti, Nina Simone and Duke Ellington.

Trophy case

His awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a fellowship from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and three National Endowment for the Arts fellowships.

Personal

The openly gay Brown lives on Amboy Street in Brooklyn.