Dance Department to host work inspired by Muhammad Ali

Choreographer Christal Brown and a nine-member male ensemble will present “The Opulence of Integrity: A Movement Odyssey Exploring the Life and Legacy of Muhammad Ali” at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 29, in the Robinson Hall for the Performing Arts Belk Theater.

This riveting multimedia dance theater work, inspired by the public life and inner searching of boxing’s outspoken superstar, is presented in four chapters. Using Ali’s story as a social activist, public martyr and human being, “The Opulence of Integrity” explores the struggle for identity among men of color in the United States. The performance by six professional dancers and three actors incorporates spoken text, imagery and elements of boxing, hip-hop, martial arts and modern dance, with an original sound score by Zimbabwean composer Farai Malianga.

A North Carolina native and former principal dancer with Urban Bush Women, Brown is chair of the Dance Department at Middlebury College in Vermont and the founder of INSPIRIT, Project: BECOMING, a performance and educational organization that promotes and supports female choreographers.

After studying dance at UNC Greensboro, she began her professional career with Chuck Davis’s African-American Dance Ensemble and apprenticed with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company before joining Urban Bush Women. Brown will be in residency with the UNC Charlotte Department for Dance for two weeks in January.

The department will host a free pre-concert talk with Gregory Mixon, associate professor of history, at 6:30 p.m., Jan. 29, in Robinson Hall, Room 118.

Tickets for “The Opulence of Integrity” are $25 for general audiences; $12 for UNC Charlotte faculty, staff and alumni; $10 for seniors; and $8 for all students and can be purchased online or by calling 704-687-1849. Visit arts.charlotte.edu for details.