Black History Month Profiles Karen Brown

We celebrate the excellence of artistic commitment with Karen Brown a prolific visionary blessed with the gift of Dance.
Oakland Ballet has named Karen Brown, formerly of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, as the company's new artistic director. The announcement was made yesterday at a press conference at Oakland City Hall hosted by Mayor Jerry Brown and Oakland Ballet officials.

A member of Dance Theatre of Harlem from 1973 to 1995, Brown has enjoyed a long career as dancer, educator, arts administrator and teacher. Among the eminent choreographers with whom she has worked are Arthur Mitchell, Frederick Franklin, Alexandra Danilova, Agnes De Mille and Geoffrey Holder. Bay Area audiences may remember Brown for her many performances with the Dance Theatre of Harlem at Berkeley's Zellerbach Hall, including her lead role in Alonzo King's ``Signs and Wonders.''

Brown's community outreach activities are extensive and have included working with young dancers in the Harlem company's annual Kennedy Center Residency in Washington, D.C.
She was born in 1955 in Augusta, Ga., and began her ballet training with Ron Colton of the Augusta Ballet. Following her tenure with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Brown was director of education at the Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education from 1995 to 1997. She has worked for the International Association of Blacks in Dance and, most recently, has served as Artistic Director of Karenina, a dance support organization she founded in 1997.
``I am delighted to have the opportunity to share my vision of dance with Oakland Ballet,'' said Brown. ``I look forward to working closely with the community at large.''
Oakland Ballet was founded in 1965 and has been dancing in Oakland's Paramount Theater since 1973. Although the company has had its share of financial troubles and staff cutbacks, it also boasts an illustrious history and a unique repertory that has been acclaimed internationally for its vibrant reconstructions of modern ballets. These include Kurt Joos' ``The Green Table,'' Bronislava Nijinska's ``Les Noces'' and ``Les Biches,'' and a production of Michel Fokine's ``Les Sylphides'' that ranks as one of the finest anywhere.

Karen Brown is a noted humanist who expresses the complex issues of humanity with the divine expression of dance and music. She is a founding board member of the Atlanta Ballet ABCDE Dance School which gives enlightenment and joy to all. Her outreach activities have touched all communities. She is known for integrity and fierce determination to build and provide a platform for the Arts.