EVIDENCE Artist Bios
RONALD K. BROWN (Founder/Artistic Director), raised in Brooklyn, NY, founded EVIDENCE, A Dance Company in 1985. He has worked with Mary Anthony Dance Theater and Jennifer Muller/The Works, as well as other choreographers and artists, and has been on the faculty of The Juilliard School. Brown has set works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Jeune Ballet d’Afrique Noire, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Philadanco, Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago, Ballet Hispánico, TU Dance, and Malpaso Dance Company.
He has collaborated with such artists as composer/designer Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya; the late writer Craig G. Harris; director Ernie McClintock’s Jazz Actors Theatre; choreographers Patricia Hoffbauer and Rokiya Kone; composers Robert Een, Oliver Lake, Bernadette Speech, David Simons, and Don Meissner; and musicians Jason Moran, Arturo O’Farrill, and Meshell Ndegeocello.
Brown is the recipient of the 2020 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. His other awards and recognitions include the AUDELCO Award for his choreography in Regina Taylor’s award-winning play Crowns, two Black Theater Alliance Awards, and a Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreography in the Tony-winning Broadway and national touring production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, adapted by Suzan Lori Parks, arranged by Diedre Murray, and directed by Diane Paulus.
Brown was named Def Dance Jam Workshop 2000 Mentor of the Year and has received a Doris Duke Artist Award, New York City Center Fellowship, Joyce Theater Artist Residency Center Fellowship, Scripps/ADF Award, John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Choreographers Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, United States Artists Fellowship, a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award, Dance Magazine Award, and The Ailey Apex Award. Ronald K. Brown is a Creative Administration Research artist at NCCAkron.
Brown is Co–Artistic Director of the Billie Holiday Theatre Youth Arts Academy and a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
ARCELL CABUAG (Associate Artistic Director/Dancer) is a first-generation Filipino-American who is a native of San Jose, CA. In 1995, he moved to New York and attended the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, where he was first introduced to Ronald K. Brown. His professional experiences include: Rock the House for Paramount Pictures (California), The Shoji Tabuchi Show (Branson, MO), and the Richard Rodgers Centennial Production of The King and I. Cabuag can be seen in the episode "Choreographed" on Law and Order SVU, and a Codorniucommercial with Pilobolus, shot and aired in Barcelona. He has served his community as Dance Professor at Long Island University (Brooklyn Campus), Director of Education at the Billie Holiday Theatre Youth Arts Academy, and ongoing teacher of master classes locally and abroad. Cabuag has also set EVIDENCE repertory at NYU Tisch, UMass, Boston Arts Academy, the Peridance Certificate Program, The Ailey Fordham BFA Program, University of the Arts, Kent State, DeSales University, Coker College, Marymount Manhattan College, and Boston Conservatory. Cabuag has assisted Brown in creating repertory on Philadanco Dance Company, Muntu, TU Dance, Ballet Hispánico, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and Malpaso Dance Company of Havana, Cuba. He was the associate choreographer for the Tony-winning Broadway and national touring production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. Cabuag was the first EVIDENCE apprentice in 1996, joined the company in 1997, was appointed to be Associate Artistic Director in 2003, and won a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award in 2004.
DEMETRIUS BURNS (Rehearsal Director/Dancer) was born in Anniston, AL, and grew up in Boston, MA. He received his MFA in dance from Hollins University and his BFA with an emphasis in choreography from Boston Conservatory, where he performed repertoire by Karole Armitage, Mark Morris, Darrel Moultrie, and many more, and where he choreographed Urinetown on the musical theater department. He spent several summers at the Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts as a student, intern, and instructor. He attended the Bates Dance Festival and Sidra Bell Modules. Burns also attended Jacob’s Pillow social dance program with the American Dance Guild Scholarship under the direction of Camille A. Brown and Moncell Durden and returned the following summer for the improvisation traditions and innovation program under the direction of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Burns is a recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship and became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2016.
SHAYLA ALAYRE CALDWELL (Rehearsal Director/Guest Artist) is a native of New Haven, CT. She began dancing at a very young age with mother, dance teacher, and mentor Shari Caldwell. After being introduced to Guinean culture by Aly Tatchol Camara, she became heavily influenced by traditional West African dance. She was further introduced to various styles of dance, choreographers, and composition while attending the Educational Center for the Arts and Earl Mosley's Institute of the Arts. She studied briefly in the BFA program at Virginia Commonwealth University before joining Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE in 2011. After six years with the company, she was promoted to Assistant Rehearsal Director. She has found the balance between concert and commercial work through touring and teaching hip-hop styles. She is currently EVIDENCE Rehearsal Director and Guest Artist as well as an adjunct professor at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
JOYCE EDWARDS (Assistant Rehearsal Director/Dancer), from Rochester, NY, is a lifelong student who uses her artistry to spread love unconditionally and ferociously. She is a graduate of The College at Brockport, SUNY, with a BFA in dance. Edwards is known for her performance in works by Bessie-winning choreographer Beth Gill and Netta Yerushalmy (Brand New Sidewalk, Pitkin Grove, Paramodernities). She is mentioned in the 2019 Dance Magazine issue of 25 to Watch in 2020. EVIDENCE welcomed Edwards as an apprentice in May of 2018 and later as a company member following her premiere in Ronald K. Brown’s Mercy at Bard SummerScape Dance Festival. She is Assistant Rehearsal Director and has had the opportunity to assist setting repertory on students at the Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis and the New Orleans Ballet Association (2021). Edwards became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2019.
TSUBASA KAMEI (Technical Director/Production Manager/Resident Lighting Designer) has toured with the company to more than 65 venues globally and internationally. Credits include scene and lighting for Mercy (world premiere); lighting for Four Corners; Dancing Spirit (Company Premiere); and New Conversations: Iron Meets Water (world premiere) for Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE. He has also designed The Call (Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) and Where the Light Shines Through (TU Dance), all choreographed by Ronald K. Brown.
AUSTIN WARREN COATS (Dancer) is an interdisciplinary artist with a magna cum laude bachelor’s degree in dance studies from Kent State University and a master of fine arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Originally from Reynoldsburg, OH, he has had the honor to work with artists such as Silvana Cardell, Angela Luem, Catherine Meredith, Jess Pretty, and Jamal White. He has attended summer intensives at The Joffrey Ballet School, Ruth Page Center of the Performing Arts, and Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE on scholarship. Coats has many interests in the arts, including fine art, dance, and fashion design. He is a published illustrator in college publications and illustrates for various dancers’ projects. His life goal is to become a choreographer and artistic director. Coats became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2021.
STEPHANIE CHRONOPOULOS (Dancer) is a first-generation Greek-American, born and raised in New York City. She graduated cum laude with a BS in dance from LIU Brooklyn, where she had the privilege of performing works by choreographers Khaleah London, Frederick Earl Mosley, Erika Pujic, Doug Varone, and Ronald K. Brown. In 2015, she became a company member of Forces of Nature Dance under the direction of Abdel Salaam. During her time with the company, she performed in the Bessie-winning Healing Sevens at BAM's DanceAfrica, and in the revival of Terrestrial Wombs at the Apollo Theater. Chronopoulos has also apprenticed with Jennifer Muller/The Works and is the recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship. She became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2019.
BREANA MOORE (Dancer) is a Memphis, TN, native. She graduated from the Certificate Training Program at the Ailey School and holds a BS in human and organizational development and sociology from Vanderbilt University. Moore has had the privilege of performing works by Alvin Ailey, Kirven Douthit-Boyd, Ronald K. Brown, Norbert De La Cruz, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Yusha Marie-Sorzano, and Judine Somerville. She also performed with The Ailey School in Merce Cunningham's 100th anniversary tribute show at the Baryshnikov Arts Center. In August of 2019, Moore joined EVIDENCE as an apprentice and performed for the Joyce Theater season in February of 2020. She is a recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship. Moore became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2021.
CHRISTOPHER SALANGO (Dancer), from Stockton, CA, received his BA in dance from California State University, Sacramento, where he discovered his love for Dunham Technique, under the tutelage of Dr. Linda Goodrich, Dr. Halifu Osumare, and Bernard Brown. Salango continued his training with Urban Bush Women’s summer arts program and Elisa Monte Dance summer series, and he is a two-time recipient of the EVIDENCE Dance Workshop Series Beth Young Scholarship. He is a second-year candidate for the Institute of Dunham Certification and is excited to continue his journey while performing with his EVIDENCE family. Salango became a company member of EVIDENCE in 2021.
RANDALL RILEY (Guest Artist) was born and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. Riley’s passion for movement began with his local church’s dance ministry, which led him to Ballet Atlantic Academy directed by Leslie Anne Otto. After completing his BFA at Long Island University Brooklyn Campus, Riley joined Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE in 2013. He works and volunteers his time with Diversity of Dance’s various programming and residencies, including as an original cast member for the Unconquered project. He is a former member of TU Dance of Saint Paul, MN, where he was a contributing artist to the Bon Iver collaboration Come Through. He has made appearances in video projects such as Naeem v2 and as a headliner for Undercurrents, which is now touring art exhibits in response to the climate change crisis. Riley is a member of Battery Dance Company and has performed works by Alenka Cizmesija, Bill T Jones, Donald Byrd, Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, Gioconda Barbuto, and Francesca Harper.
