Get a glimpse into a new theater and dance collaboration being developed on the MCA Stage in this sneak peek performance!
A chorus of step dancers directed by Roberta Uno exposes writer and poet Dahlak Brathwaite’s personal journey through the criminal justice system, a rite of passage for many young black men, exploring the struggle for vindication in the eyes of the law and society. Music is the mission of Try/Step/Trip, but Brathwaite is the conductor of his own story, told through dancers who figure as his younger self: a recent college graduate, a fraternity pledge dropout, and resister of labels. In this resonant music and theater experience, the ritual of black fraternity step dance parallels the effort to be recognized for who you are when the system only sees a criminal, with the cycles of freedom and subjugation in black American music as a starting place.