The Great Northern: Tracing Sacred Steps (Excerpt) + Brownbody Apprentice Performance & Skate Party
Doors open at 3:00 P.M. | Ticketed Performance at 3:30 P.M. | Skate Party (Free + Open to the Public) at 4:00 P.M.
Join Brownbody for an afternoon of powerful artistry and skating at the beautiful TRIA Rink in downtown St. Paul. Rooted in liberating Black artistry, Brownbody’s work radiates richness, nuance, complexity, and healing. Audiences are invited to witness and reflect on a unique blend of dance, theater, and figure skating. This performance will feature a solo and a duet by Brownbody’s apprentices, showcasing their growing voices through movement. Building on these voices, Brownbody will then share an excerpt from its evening‑length work, Tracing Sacred Steps. Performed by our professional skating movement artists, this excerpt comes from the third section, Sanctuary, a space of liberation, resilience, reverence, and affirmation where Black artistry on ice becomes both healing and transformative.
Click here to purchase tickets, cost is $10/person.
Immediately following the performance, we invite you to join Brownbody and The Great Northern for a Skate Party at Tria Rink!
Skate Party (Free + Open to the Public) Information:
Lace up your skates and get ready for fun, music, and games on the Ice! Brownbody’s talented team of instructors will be on hand to offer mini-lessons and skating tips for everyone – first timers and experienced skaters alike!
Skate party is open to all ages and skill levels — everyone is welcome! Helmets are required for all skaters (bring your own or borrow one of ours). Free skate rentals will be available
Wayfinding instructions for TRIA Rink can be found here: WAYFINDING INSTRUCTIONS – TRIA RINK.pdf
Performing Artist Bios
Deneane Richburg
Deneane Richburg is the founder/Artistic Director of Brownbody, the home for her choreographic work. Deneane grew up a competitive figure skater—spending time in spaces where she had to check her blackness at the door, as the skating world was dominated by whiteness and rooted in values that subjugated her ancestry’s truths. Working in this space, to quote Zora Neale Hurston, she always felt “most colored when [she was] thrown against a sharp white background.” Richburg realized the need to carve out space for her blackness hence her decision to establish Brownbody. Since 2013 Brownbody has honored complex narratives of U.S.-based Black communities by inviting the nuance, beauty, and complexity of blackness into the work. Richburg received her MFA in dance and choreography from Temple University in
2007, an MA in Afro-American Studies from UW Madison, and a BA in English and African American Studies from Carleton College. Deneane has been creating work for both the ice and the stage for over 15 years and, thru her company, had the good fortune of working with Urban Bush Women on translating two of their works onto the ice. Deneane has also performed with companies including FlyGround, and Kariamu and Company. Deneane is a grateful recipient of a 2017 and 2023 McKnight Choreography Fellowship, administered by the Cowles Center, funded by The McKnight Foundation, a 2019 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, and a Dance/USA Fellowship to Artists made possible with generous funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
Emmanuel Savory
Emmanuel Savary is a skater, mentor, and artist making his debut with Brownbody. A two-time U.S. national medalist and 2009 U.S. Junior Champion, Emmanuel brings years of technical training and performance experience to his movement practice. He is deeply committed to expanding access and representation in skating through his work with Diversify Ice, founded by his brother Joel Savary, where he mentors young skaters of color. Emmanuel is also a student of astrophysics at the University of Delaware and is passionate about dance and creative expression across disciplines.
Roobi Starla Gaskins
Roobi Starla Gaskins is a NYC-based artist specializing in dance, choreography, and wearable art. While she has always had a passion for dance, her movement foundation was shaped by 14 years of competitive figure skating, during which she competed internationally as a member of the Puerto Rican national team. After an injury, she redirected her career path and began formal dance training at Bard College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a focus in Africana Studies. She toured nationally as a company member with Urban Bush Women and has performed with artists and companies including Abby Z and the New Utility, Brownbody, Houston Grand Opera, Marjani Forte-Saunders, and LaJune McMillan. In addition to performing, she coaches figure skating and teaches house dance in the NYC area.
Eugene Sandel
Eugene Sandel has been skating for seven years and brings a rich background in music education to their artistic practice. As a secondary choir teacher with a degree in Vocal Music Education, they continue to expand their work as a conductor and musician while building a diverse professional portfolio. Now in their fifth year with Brownbody, where they serve as Lead Instructor for Learn to Skate, they find in skating a distinctive creative outlet—a physical practice that offers release and expression in ways that complement and contrast with their musical work. For them, skating provides a uniquely tangible space for creation unlike anything else in their life.
Eli Stende
Eli Stende began figure skating three years ago, transitioning from a hockey background to embrace new challenges on the ice. Currently a University of Minnesota student studying nursing and neuroscience, he plans to pursue graduate school following his 2028 graduation. In his two and a half years with Brownbody, he has progressed from assistant instructor to instructor, drawn to the demanding nature of figure skating and the ever-evolving obstacles it presents. For him, each time he steps onto the ice brings a fresh set of challenges to navigate and overcome.
Trevor Bowen (Costume Designer)
As costume designer, Trevor is making their Brownbody debut. Trevor’s previous credits: Regional Guthrie (A Doll’s House, Nacirema Society, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V, Hamlet, We Are Proud to Present, Choir Boy,); Children’s Theatre Company (Drawing Lessons, An American Tail, Corduroy, Something Happened in Our Town, Last Stop on Market Street); Seattle Children’s Theatre (Black Beauty, Edward Tulane, The Watsons go to Birmingham-1964); Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Primary Trust, Clyde’s); Denver Center for the Performing Arts (The Color Purple); Asolo Rep (Sweat); Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (The Day You Begin); Sheen Center (All is Calm); 5th Avenue (Ragtime); OSF (Shane); Arena Stage (Ride the Cyclone); Steppenwolf (BLKS, True West), The Jungle Theater (Lady Day At Emerson Bar and Grille, Bars and Measures); Penumbra (Weathering, Girl Shakes Loose); Opera Boston Lyric Opera (Fellow Travelers, Bluebeard’s Castle, Champion, La Cenerentola); MN Opera (My Name is Florence, La Boheme, Albert Herring, Duchess in Daughter of the Regiment, The Fix,); Glimmerglass Opera Festival (The Knock); Dance Blacklight re:Search (Cowles Center); Public Love (Walker Art Center). Trevor received an education M.F.A. in Costume Design from West Virginia University. Trevor was a 2021 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow.
