The Beat Beneath Us opens the 2026 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival with a celebration of rhythm, movement, and Black creative power — placing the body itself at the center of the music.

The evening begins with Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, performing dances made in tribute to Max Roach, the iconic drummer, composer, and activist whose music reshaped jazz and whose artistic voice was deeply engaged with the civil rights movement. Drawing on Roach’s rhythmic innovation and political urgency, Brown’s choreography translates sound into movement — honoring Roach’s legacy through ensemble motion that is grounded, propulsive, and alive with history.

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The Flynn: Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

The Flynn

The Billie Holiday Theatre

Immerse yourself in the fluid eloquence and highly anticipated Northrop onstage debut of Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE. For this 40th anniversary celebration honoring Ronald K. Brown, one of our generation’s most highly sought-after choreographers, EVIDENCE will be joined by esteemed local trailblazer TU Dance. This exceptional program will showcase the transformative works of Brown, whose choreography has been hailed as “richly expressive and irresistibly kinetic” (The New York Times).

Northrop Presents: Encore With EVIDENCE & TU Dance

Northrup

The New York Times says it best, “If there is any company working today whose dancers pack a more sophisticated and vibrant kinetic punch … I can’t think of it.” Ronald K Brown / EVIDENCE is that special—profound, absolutely moving, and a performance experience to be felt rather than merely watched.

TITAS/Dance Unbound

AT&T Performing Arts Center

Fire Island Dance Festival returns this summer, bringing together captivating performances, breathtaking waterfront views and a passionate community dedicated to making a difference.

Set on an awe-inspiring waterfront stage overlooking the Great South Bay, the festival transforms its Fire Island Pines environs into a living theater where movement, community and nature combine.

Fire Island Dance Festival

Fire Island, NY

Founded by Ronald K. Brown, EVIDENCE focuses on the seamless integration of traditional African dance with contemporary choreography and spoken word. Brown uses movement as a way to reinforce the importance of community in African American culture and to acquaint audiences with the beauty of traditional African forms and rhythms. The program includes Open Door, a journey into Afro Cuban dance forms with music by Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble; the electrifying Upside Down; and The Equality of Night and Day, a poetic work examining concepts of balance and equity. 

Meany Center for the Performing Arts

Katharyn Alvord Gerlich Theater

Cuba travel is legal again. Cuba remains the safest travel destination. We welcome Jazz fans and culture lovers with open arms. We are thrilled to meet you in Havana.

Havana International Jazz Festival

Havana, Cuba

Praised by The New York Times as "one of the most profound choreographers of his modern dance generation," Ronald K. Brown blends African dance with contemporary choreography, music, and spoken word, to tell stories that illuminate fundamental aspects of the human experience.

Founded in 1985 and based in Brooklyn, New York, EVIDENCE, A Dance Company, uses movement as a way to reinforce the importance of community in African-American culture and to acquaint audiences with the beauty of African dance forms and rhythms.

Evidence Dance Company

Feb 11, 2027

Ronald K. Brown / EVIDENCE

Jun 3, 2026

The Flynn: Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

Nov 14, 2025

The Billie Holiday Theatre

Evidence Dance Company