Dianne McIntyre Group’s
IN THE SAME TONGUE

In The Same Tongue is a vibrant full-length movement, sound, and language based-work. Dance legend and choreographer, Dianne McIntyre, unites a vigorous company of dancers and musicians to explore how dance and music “speak” to each other. With original music by celebrated composer Diedre Murray, it reveals how language creates worlds of beauty, alienation, harmony, tension, or peace. Dynamic vignettes ignite the stage, including McIntyre’s autobiographical stories with “the music”—such as the musical influence of the Black Arts Movement—and feature the poetry of Obie-winning playwright Ntozake Shange.

A meditation on human interaction and listening as the key to surviving this world.

Conceived and choreographed by Dianne McIntyre
Music Composition by Diedre Murray

Poetry by Ntozake Shange
Music Direction by Gerald Brazel
Costume Design by Devario Simmons
Lighting Design by Alan C. Edwards
Scenic Design by Riw Rakkulchon

  • Best Dance Performance of 2024

    The New York Times

  • "A mind-blowing experience."

    The Arts Fuse

  • "Dianne is a living legend."

    The Boston Globe

  • "With a career spanning five decades, Dianne McIntyre is one of the most important artists in the American dance scene."

    Walker Magazine

  • "Dianne McIntyre is the queen of dance collaborations and improvisations."

    Minnesota Star Tribune

  • "There is not a single descriptor that is Dianne McIntyre...Watching her dance and create these stories are lessons in enlightenment.”

    Dance Magazine

  • "An overdue visit from an uncommonly fluent speaker in jazz."

    The New York Times

Close-up portrait of an older woman with gray hair pulled back, wearing earrings and a black top against a neutral gray background.

Dianne McIntyre

Dianne McIntyre is regarded as an artistic pioneer, with an impressive career spanning five decades with choreography for dance, theatre, opera, television and film. A 2022 Dance Magazine Awardee, 2019 Dance/USA Honor Awardee and 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award recipient, her individualistic movement style reflects her affinity for cultural histories, personal narratives and the boldness, nuances, discipline and freedom in music and poetic text. Since 1972, she has choreographed scores of concert dances, four Broadway shows, 30 regional theatre productions, a London West End musical, two feature films, three television productions, stage movement for recording artists and created five original full-length dance dramas.  World renowned dance companies, such as DanceTheatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, GroundWorks DanceTheater, Dancing Wheels, as well as forty plus university ensembles and major dance festivals have commissioned her choreography and teaching residencies. diannemcintyre.com/

A dance performance on stage with six dancers in colorful outfits, dramatic lighting, and a live band in the background.
Group of nine performers on stage at night, dressed in colorful costumes, some standing, some seated, under dramatic lighting.
Performers dancing on stage with a band in the background, dim lighting with a large screen behind.
Four dancers on stage, dressed in black, performing with expressive poses, low lighting highlighting their movements.
Six dancers perform on stage with a dark blue curtain backdrop, lit by stage lights, in various expressive poses.
Two dancers performing a contemporary dance on stage with a dark background. The male dancer is wearing black with a hat, and the female dancer is wearing black leggings and a top, with her hair in a bun. The female dancer is lifted, with one leg ext

Development Partners

Black text on white background reading 'Ford Foundation'.
Logo of the New England Foundation for the Arts featuring the acronym 'NEFA'.

In The Same Tongue is Commissioned by Walker Art Center, Northrop at the University of Minnesota, Duke University, Apollo Theater, Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts’ Caroline Hearst Choreographer-In-Residence Program, ArtsEmerson and Thomas M. Neff.

Additional development support provided by The Ford Foundation, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, Dance Place /Alan M. Kriegsman Creative Residency, Doris Duke Foundation.

In the Same Tongue was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts' National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and The Mellon Foundation.

Special thanks to: Dance Theatre of Harlem, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Cleveland State University Department of Theatre and Dance, Rod Williams, Vincent Henry, Careitha Davis, Matia Johnson, Nehemiah Spencer, Cara Hagan, Elias Bailey, Donna M. Whyte, Cheryl Banks-Smith, Georgiana Pickett, Anna Glass, Mikki Shepard, Sali Ann Kriegsman.

Performance History

Duke University | Princeton University | MANCC/FSU | The Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN); World Premiere | ASU Gammage | Duke Performances | Apollo Theater | The Black Rep (St. Louis, MO) | DANCECleveland

Touring through 2025

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