DIY Performance Platform Series

Same But Different

Lida Winfield and Christal Brown

April 9th, 2022: 8pm

April 10th, 2022: 5pm

Complex@Canal (650 East Kendall Street)

In-Person Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/295419566877

Virtual Registration (April 10th Only): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/295426577847

Same but Different is a collaboration between Christal Brown and Lida Winfield, exploring their similarities and differences in a cultural commentary on race, age, and gender. 42 years young and recently orphaned, Lida grew up in the North, Christal grew up in the South, both of them grew up inhabiting small towns. Lida is white, Christal is black. As children, Christal was considered a genius and Lida was labeled dumb. At this point in their lives, Lida and Christal have both lived the rigors of being artists, professors, educators, and survivors of life.

Same But Different was created with support from Middlebury Performing Arts Series, The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts and the National Performance Network. This Same But Different residency is supported by New England Foundation for the Arts’ New England States Touring Grant.

Collaborators:

Composers: Philippe Bronchtein and Farai Malianga

Director of photography: Sam Kann

Assistant camera: Matteo Moretti

Dramaturg: Michole Biancosino

Lighting designer: Jennifer Ponder

Costume design: Carol Wood

Trailer:

https://vimeo.com/503971081

Behind the Scenes Footage from Production of Same But Different

Podcast:

Christal Brown and Lida Winfield are excited to announce the Same But Different Podcast! With the support of The Yard and their fabulous interns Garrett Parker and Jace Arouet. We were able to record 15 episodes that illuminate stories of their past, present, and future. LISTEN HERE

Workshops:

Explore how your personal history can be used as inspiration to make your own original choreography. In this workshop Christal Brown and Lida Winfield will explore the techniques of visual storytelling, embodied truth and personal narrative. All bodies and abilities welcome.

A Body of Knowledge for Educators: HAPPENING APRIL 9TH, 2 – 4PM

In this workshop Lida Winfield and Christal Brown will guide participants through an experiential investigation of identity through movement, writing and reflection. The goals of this hands on workshop will include assessing bias and intercultural histories as well as practical tools for kinesthetic classroom engagement.

Christal Brown Biography

Christal Brown is the Founder of INSPIRIT and Project:BECOMING, the creator of the Liquid Strength training module for dance, an Associate Professor of Dance at Middlebury College and the CVO of Steps and Stages Coaching, LLC. Brown received a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business from UNCG and her MFA in New Media Art and Technology from LIU. Brown is a native of Kinston, NC where while serving as her mother’s sidekick, she learned the mechanisms of cultural organizing and the organic synthesis of art and activism. Her path of self-discovery has been influenced by trailblazers such as Chuck Davis, Bill T. Jones, Andrea E. Woods, Liz Lerman, Bebe Miller, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Brown is a mover and a warrior of change and transformation. Brown combines her athleticism, creativity, love for people, and passion for teaching to create works that redefine the art of dance, the creation of identity and structures of power. For more information ChristalBrown.com

Lida Winfield Biography

Lida Winfield is an innovative and accomplished dancer, choreographer, spoken word artist and educator, who has created original work merging storytelling, dance and visual art. As an artist, educator and keynote presenter, she has performed and taught nationally and internationally in traditional and non-traditional environments. Lida’s artistic practice is inextricably linked to her role as an educator and her pedagogy is rooted in inclusion, access, and the recognition that our brains and bodies work differently and this difference is a valuable asset. Lida encourages her students and audience to see themselves, their bodies, and their environment from new angles. She cultivates opportunities and experiences that are deeply transformative. What transpires within the teaching and performing environment is integrated and transferred out into the world, allowing it to live beyond the confines of the classroom or stage. Lida studied at The School for New Dance Development in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and in 2011 earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Arts from Goddard College, VT, with a focus on the transformative power of the expressive arts. Lida is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Dance Program at Middlebury College. For more information www.lidawinfield.com

Instagram: @lidawinfield; @browngirldance

Facebook: Christal Brown, Lida Winfield, INSPIRIT dance – @sbddance

In 2016 Christal Brown and Lida Winfield were teaching at the Bates Young Dancers Festival. Although we had mingled in many professional circles; we didn’t know each other very well. After watching Lida interact with the students and our colleagues I began to notice how alike we were. I approached Lida, and in my flippant and visionary tone said; “We should make a piece called Same But Different that highlights our similarities but how because of what we look like the world may never connect the dots.” Subsequently, Lida became my colleague at Middlebury College and the hustle and bustle of academia and artistry put this idea on hold. As I began to prepare for sabbatical in January of 2020, Lida and I began devising a rehearsal and collaboration schedule for **_Same But Different_**. Covid moved us out of the studio and into my garage and instead of an in person premiere the sharing of this work became digital. In 2022 we will craft this work for the in-person stage as well. We offer live Q and A and workshops of all kinds in partnership with the performance. Our collaborators Philippe Bronchtein, Michael Biancosino, Sam Kann, Farai Malianga, Jennifer Ponder, Carol Wood, and the Middlebury Performing Arts Series, have been instrumental in keeping this project alive alongside The Flynn Center. Our friendship, respect for one another, perseverance, and artistry have been inspiring and I can’t wait to share this work with you.

Same But Different Press Quotes

Robin Fawcett: Lida Christal – I was sooooo damn thirsty but didn’t know it until I took in SAME BUT DIFFERENT… The talkback too… The fabric of you, your minds at work, speech and limb: KABOOOOOOM! The pure inspiration awakens me inside out! T H A N K Y O U

Elizabeth Billings: “It feels like a love song to humanity. Grounded, practical, tender and tough, I loved it. Thank you for making it.”

Dear Lida & Christal,

Thank you for your honesty, vulnerability and presence. Thank you for taking up space. Thank you for role modeling deep listening. Thank you for the spaces between your words. Thank you for moving your bodies with purpose. For allowing us witnesses to be moved. Water dripped from my eyes when you looked into the camera and asked what my story was. Thank you for the invitation to be seen. Thank you for being awake. For inspiring viewers to wake up. I love dance. Thank you for honoring it’s language.

Warmly,

Molly K

Photo Credit: JHsu Media