Around the World
Date: Unknown
This autobiographical resume source from Brown provides one of the best and most elaborate and detailed descriptions of Brown’s whereabouts as he was traveling the world. One might notice that he did actually visit Europe and Asia immediately for training after leaving Portland and that New York City did not begin to recognize Brown’s work in a sincere fashion until 1986, only 10 years before Brown’s death. One may also notice how Brown continued to come back to Portland after all his training in Asia and Europe, although Japanese dance particularly influenced him strongly. Megan Nicely, a Portland dancer who took one workshop with Brown in the early 90’s was so inspired by Brown’s choreography that she went on to be particularly interested in Butoh.
Date Unknown
Through his travels Brown ended up receiving Butoh training in Japan, which went on to greatly inform the way that Brown approached the choreography to Changing Dance Theatre pieces. Throughout his early years in dance Brown was drawn to quick and extremely emotive motions, particularly amazing jumps. Peggy Choy, one of José’s dance peers at Reed who was also instructed by Judy Massee, remarked that his dancing was powerful and emotive, his feet barely touching the floor. However in an interview with Megan Nicely who took a Changing Dance Theatre workshop in 1992 (?) that eventually resulted in a Changing Dance Theatre production of “Where the Moon Goes” Nicely remarked at the thoughtful and emotive Butoh choreography that was then juxtaposed with Brown’s impossible buoyancy.
Date: May 1986
Brown frequently performed in Denmark after his first performance in 1984 went over well. Brown wrote to George that Denmark was one of the only places he could consistently get work, and often talked in letters about poverty to Cummings that his poverty would be alleviated by going to Europe to conduct lessons and perform. However, in a 1986 letter to Cummings Brown wrote that he still enjoyed performing in Denmark but that he was beginning to recognize that his race played a major factor in his success as well as his lack of success in New York, he expressed that he simply had a deeper connection with people of color due to shared experiences and that he was beginning to feel somewhat ostracized from paying concert dance scenes in New York and Copenhagen alike.