Robert Garland News

Last week, The Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) presented a classic but eclectic program of four ballets at the Miller Outdoor Theatre. To my surprise, they gave me something I could feel. The performance reminded me that ballet can be fun, art should be communal and a coloratura soprano singing 'Domine Deus, Rex caelestis' is just as electrifying as James Brown singing 'Mother Popcorn.'

Today we are turning back the hands of time to 1947 in honor of awards season to one of the most revered and revived plays of all time, Tennessee Williams's A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.

Juilliard Dance, under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes, opens its 2014-15 season in December 2014 with New Dances: Edition 2014 featuring four world premiere dances by innovative choreographers, Juilliard alumnus Austin McCormick (1st-Year Dancers); alumna Loni Landon (2nd-Year Dancers); Kate Weare (3rd-Year Dancers); and Larry Keigwin (4th-Year Dancers). Mr. Keigwin is returning to Juilliard where he already choreographed and premiered, in December 2008, Runaway, a large-scale piece that riffs on the high fashion runway scene, and in December 2009, Megalopolis.

On Friday, April 25th, the new Dance Theater of Harlem, now in its second year, presented three ballets. Pas De Dix, a set of dances taken from the last act of the full-length ballet Raymonda, choreography by Marius Petipas and originally staged for DTH by Frederic Franklin, offered this young company the opportunity to delve into the world of the classics. The dancers worked diligently to execute the steps and the feeling required for such a work. In the second variation Nayara Lopes was fresh and sweet, while Linsey Croop demonstrated qualities both strong and cute in the in the fourth variation. In general, however, while potential was evident, the dancers lack the experience and maturity to make the most of this ballet. I expect that in a few years they will be giving more assured, even exciting performances.

Dance Theatre of Harlem's 2014 run at Jazz at Lincoln Center, the second New York season after a nine-year absence, drew to a satisfying close on the afternoon of Sunday, April 27th with a well-chosen triple bill. The beloved troupe, America's first African American ballet company, was forced to go on hiatus in 2004 when it announced its $2.3 million debt. Now under the able artistic direction of Virginia Johnson, who was a DTH principal ballerina for 28 years, the resurrected national treasure is dedicated to carrying on the mission of founders Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook to 'present a ballet company of African-American and other racially diverse artists who perform the most demanding repertory at the highest level of quality.'

The Dance Theatre of Harlem Celebrates its 45th Anniversary at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

The Virginia Arts Festival presents Dance Theatre of Harlem on May 17 and 18 in Norfolk and Richard Alston Dance Company on May 21 and 23 in Norfolk and Williamsburg in this year's Dance Series. The 2014 Festival features two world-class companies who have rewritten the rules for these art forms.

This month, Juilliard Dances Repertory presents repertory works by acclaimed choreographers Eliot Feld, Juilliard alumnus Lar Lubovitch, and Twyla Tharp. Juilliard dancers perform Baker's Dozen by Twyla Tharp; Concerto Six Twenty-Two by Lar Lubovitch; and The Jig is Up by Eliot Feld. All three dances were choreographed between 1979 and 1986, and Juilliard dancers have had the opportunity to learn the dances through intensive work with two of the choreographers - Eliot Feld and Lar Lubovitch - and with Juilliard alumna Shelley Washington, an original member of the cast of Twyla Tharp's work.

This month, Juilliard Dances Repertory presents repertory works by acclaimed choreographers Eliot Feld, Juilliard alumnus Lar Lubovitch, and Twyla Tharp. Juilliard dancers perform Baker's Dozen by Twyla Tharp; Concerto Six Twenty-Two by Lar Lubovitch; and The Jig is Up by Eliot Feld. All three dances were choreographed between 1979 and 1986, and Juilliard dancers have had the opportunity to learn the dances through intensive work with two of the choreographers - Eliot Feld and Lar Lubovitch - and with Juilliard alumna Shelley Washington, an original member of the cast of Twyla Tharp's work.

Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) held its 2014 Vision 2014 Gala on February 25th at Cipriani 42 in New York City. As Dance Theatre of Harlem celebrates its 45th Anniversary, this year's gala was themed 'Live the Moment' and raised $700,000, $75,000 of which resulted from the entertaining live auction conducted by Audrey Smaltz, with the proceeds benefitting the DTH School's Next Generation and Community Engagement Funds. Honorees were Grammy Award-winning recording artist Patti LaBelle with the Arthur Mitchell Vision Award; dance educator and arts advocate Jody Gottfried Arnhold with The Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation Medal; and Goldman, Sachs & Co. senior partner Valentino D. Carlotti with the inaugural Virtuoso Award. The evening's honorary chair was Billy Joel (not in attendance). Scroll down for photos!

In March 2014, Juilliard Dances Repertory presents repertory works by acclaimed choreographers Eliot Feld, Juilliard alumnus Lar Lubovitch, and Twyla Tharp. Juilliard dancers perform Concerto Six Twenty-Two by Lar Lubovitch; Baker's Dozen by Twyla Tharp; and The Jig is Up by Eliot Feld. All three dances were choreographed between 1979 and 1986, and Juilliard dancers will have the opportunity to learn the dances through intensive work with two of the choreographers - Eliot Feld and Lar Lubovitch - and with Shelley Washington, an original member of the cast of Twyla Tharp's work.

The Virginia Arts Festival will explore worlds far and near, past and present, real and imagined in its spring 2014 season, with more than 50 performances by world?renowned artists, on stages throughout southeastern Virginia. Fans of music, dance and theater will travel from across the United States and around the world to see performances in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Williamsburg, Newport News, and James City County.

Kingsbury Hall Presents Dance Theatre of Harlem, founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell, the first African American to become a principal dancer for New York City Ballet. Dance Theatre of Harlem will perform at Kingsbury Hall on the U of U campus on Thursday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $29, $39, $49 and $59, with a $5 ticket available for U of U students, and are available at the Kingsbury Hall box office, by phone at 801-581-7100 or online at www.kingtix.com.

In celebration of its 45th anniversary, Dance Theatre of Harlem's 2014 New York City season at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall was announced today by executive director Laveen Naidu and artistic director Virginia Johnson. There will be six performances from April 23 through April 27. The season will be highlighted by the New York City premieres of three new works. The first, past-carry-forward choreographed by Thaddeus Davis and Tanya Wideman Davis, considers the legacy of the Great Migration of African Americans from the agrarian South to the industrial North in the early part of the twentieth-century. The second is the acclaimed Dancing On The Front Porch of Heaven, which will be seen for the first time in New York since it was created in 1993 by Ulysses Dove for the Royal Swedish Ballet. Subtitled 'Ode to Love and Loss,' it was choreographed during a challenging period in Ulysses Dove's life, during which he lost 13 close friends and relatives, including his father. The New York premiere of Pas de Dix From Raymonda, choreographed by Marius Petipa with music by Alexander Glazunov, will be a special tribute to the late Frederic Franklin, who was an artistic advisor to DTH.

The Virginia Arts Festival will explore worlds far and near, past and present, real and imagined in its spring 2014 season, with more than 50 performances by world?renowned artists, on stages throughout southeastern Virginia. Fans of music, dance and theater will travel from across the United States and around the world to see performances in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Williamsburg, Newport News, and James City County.

Dance Theatre of Harlem appeared at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center on Friday for their Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration.

Experience the poetry-in-motion of the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem, as they headline NJPAC's Martin Luther King celebration today, January 17th in Prudential Hall. Check out a sneak peek below!

Experience the poetry-in-motion of the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem, as they headline NJPAC's Martin Luther King celebration today, January 17th in Prudential Hall. The renowned ballet company was co-founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and the late Karel Shook as a positive and uplifting way to turn despair into hope following the assassination of Dr. King. Mitchell was the first African-American principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, and Karel Shook, had been the first teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet. Mitchell began by founding a dance school and later a company that would bring new opportunity to the lives of young people in the Harlem neighborhood in which he grew up.

Experience the poetry-in-motion of the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem, as they headline NJPAC's Martin Luther King celebration on Friday, January 17th in Prudential Hall. The renowned ballet company was co-founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and the late Karel Shook as a positive and uplifting way to turn despair into hope following the assassination of Dr. King. Mitchell was the first African-American principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, and Karel Shook, had been the first teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet. Mitchell began by founding a dance school and later a company that would bring new opportunity to the lives of young people in the Harlem neighborhood in which he grew up.

Juilliard Dance, under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes, presents New Dances PLUS: Edition 2013 from tonight, December 11-15, 2013featuring Juilliard alumna Pina Bausch's Wind von West (Wind from the West) performed by 4th-Year Dancers, plus three world premiere commissions created for each of the classes of Juilliard's Dance Division.