Dance Theatre of Harlem
Friday, November 15, 2024
FOUNDERS
Arthur Mitchell Karel Shook
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Robert Garland Anna Glass
REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Juan Carlos Peñuela
DANCE ARTISTS
Ariana Dickerson Lindsey Donnell Carly Greene
Alexandra Hutchinson Alexandra Rene Jones
Kira Robinson Kamala Saara
Ingrid Silva Alden Smith Delaney Washington
Stephanie Rae Williams Derek Brockington Micah Bullard
Kouadio Davis Keenan English Elias Re
Luis Fernando Rego David Wright
Generous support for Dance Theatre of Harlem is provided by Alphadyne Foundation; Arnhold Foundation; Bloomberg LP; Bloomberg Philanthropies; Con Edison; COFRA Foundation; Copland Fund for Music; Cornell Family Foundation; Dance/NYC; Davis/Dauray Family Fund; Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; Ford Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation; Amy P. Goldman Foundation; Google; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; The DuBose & Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund; Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation; Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Jockey Hollow Foundation; JPMorgan Chase; Klein Family Foundation; Lenat Foundation; The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation; MAC Cosmetics; Madison Square Garden; Masters Capital Management, LLC; The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation; Mellon Foundation; Meta; Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation; Margaret T. Morris Foundation; Henry and Lucy Moses Fund; New England Foundation for the Arts; Nike; Tatiana Piankova Foundation; Jerome Robbins Foundation; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; Thomas & Birdie C. Smith Arts Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; The Thompson Family Foundation; Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation; Venable Foundation; Warner Music Group / Blavatnik Family Foundation Social Justice Fund; Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP; Wells Fargo; and one anonymous donor.
Dance Theatre of Harlem is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
RETURN
World Premiere September 21, 1999
Choreography: Robert Garland
Music: James Brown, Alfred Ellis, Aretha Franklin, Carolyn Franklin
Costume Design and Execution: Pamela Allen-Cummings
Lighting: Roma Flowers
“Mother Popcorn”
INGRID SILVA
Ariana Dickerson Carly Greene Alexandra Rene Jones
Lindsey Donnell Kamala Saara
MICAH BULLARD
Derek Brockington Kouadio Davis Elias Re
Luis Fernando Rego David Wright
"Baby, Baby, Baby"
LINDSEY DONNELL DEREK BROCKINGTON
Alexandra Rene Jones Kouadio Davis Kamala Saara Elias Re
“I Got The Feelin’”
INGRID SILVA LUIS FERNANDO REGO
Carley Greene David Wright Ariana Dickerson Kouadio Davis
“Call Me”
KAMALA SAARA ELIAS RE
"Superbad"
MICAH BULLARD
The Company
Return was choreographed for Dance Theatre of Harlem's 30th anniversary. Choreographer Robert Garland calls the ballet's style "post-modern urban neoclassicism - an attempt to fuse an urban physical sensibility and a neoclassical one." Staged for 12 dancers to songs performed by James Brown and Aretha Franklin, Return is "... a witty fusion of ballet technique and street gait whose irony toward rhythm-and- blues had the audience in stitches." (The New York Times)
"Mother Popcorn " and “Superbad” performed by James Brown
"Baby, Baby, Baby" performed by Aretha Franklin
By arrangement with Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
“Call Me” performed by Aretha Franklin
Courtesy of Pronto Music and Fourteenth Hour Music, Inc.
"I Got the Feelin’" performed by James Brown
By arrangement with Round Hill, Inc.
Intermission
TAKE ME WITH YOU
DTH Premiere February 9, 2024
Choreography: Robert Bondara
Lighting & Costume Design: Robert Bondara
KAMALA SAARA ELIAS RE
‘The catchy percussion beat of the Radiohead song “Reckoner” became the first trigger and source of inspiration for movement language and choreography. Getting deeper into the creative process and vague lyrics of the song in a very personal way, the content of the choreography got closer to reflection about our existence, our efforts to grasp the meaning of life despite “bittersweet distractors”. What is essential for the piece is metaphysical experience, an elusive atmosphere determining relations between the dancers on the stage.’ Robert Bondara
This duet was created in 2016 for Polish National Ballet soloists Yuka Ebihara and Kristof Szabo. Take Me With You was later performed by many leading dancers, including Roberto Bolle and Melissa Hamilton among others, and in theatres across the globe and on Polish, Czech and Italian TV. In 2021, Robert created a larger one act ballet that includes this duet for Poznan Opera Ballet and in 2022 was staged by West Australian Ballet.
Reckoner by Radiohead. Thom Yorke, songwriter, vocals. Jonny Greenwood, songwriter, guitar. Colin Greenwood, songwriter, bass. Philip Selway, songwriter, drums.
Music by arrangement with Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Pause
DONIZETTI VARIATIONS
World Premiere November 16, 1960, City Center of Music and Drama, NY, NY
Choreography: George Balanchine
Music: Gaetano Donizetti
Costumes: Katy A. Freeman
Lighting: Andrea Sala
Staged for DTH by Kyra Nicholas Grey
ALEXANDRA HUTCHINSON DAVID WRIGHT
Arian Dickerson Micah Bullard Ingrid Silva
Alexandra Rene Jones Kouadio Davis Kira Robinson
Delaney Washington Derek Brockington Lindsey Donnell
The cheerful 26-minute Donizetti Variations sets a series of effervescent dances to music from the opera Don Sebastien, offering choice but technically challenging roles for two bravura dancers and three supporting trios.
This ballet (originally titled Variations from "Don Sebastian") was created for "Salute to Italy," a 1960 New York City Ballet program celebrating the 100th anniversary of Italy’s unification.
The performance of Donizetti Variations, a Balanchine Ballet, is presented by arrangement with The George Balanchine Trust and has been produced in accordance with the Balanchine Style© and Balanchine Technique©. Service standards established and provided by the trust.
Intermission
BLAKE WORKS IV (THE BARRE PROJECT)
World Premiere January 20, 2023, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Penn Live Arts/Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, PA
Choreography: William Forsythe
Music: James Blake*
Lighting Design: Brandon Stirling Baker
Costume Design: William Forsythe, Katy A Freeman
Original sound by Benjamin Young
Staging & Choreographic Assistance: Jodie Gates, Noah Gelber, Benjamin Peralta.
Derek Brockington Micah Bullard Kouadio Davis
Ariana Dickerson Lindsey Donnell Keenan English
Carly Greene Alexandra Rene Jones Luis Fernando Rego
Ingrid Silva Delaney Washington Stephanie Rae Williams
David Wright
Blake Works IV (The Barre Project) (2023), a commission for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, is the latest installment in William Forsythe’s continuously evolving work The Barre Project. The work derives its inspiration from the propulsive and rigorously structured songs of composer James Blake, whose work appears primarily in the popular music idiom.
The Barre series began in 2021 at the height of the pandemic as a filmed dance that was streamed to a global audience facing restrictions on live performance at the time. The live stage version for Dance Theatre of Harlem features newly choreographed sections that highlight the diverse and formidable talents of the ensemble and is a version of the ballet that is unique to this company alone.
*All songs written by James Blake Litherland (PRS) and performed by James Blake
“Buzzard &Kestrel,” published by Universal Music Publishing Group (GMR) and
Buzzard and Kestrel LTD (ASCAP). Courtesy of Hessle Audio.
“Lindisfarne I,” published by Universal Music Publishing Group (GMR). Courtesy of Universal Music Operations Ltd.
“Lullaby for My Insomniac,” published by Sony Smash Hits Music Publishing (GMR).
Courtesy of Universal Music Operations Ltd.
“200 Press“, published by Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Limited (GMR). Courtesy of 1-800-Dinosaur.
Originating from The Barre Project (Blake Works II), created and filmed in 2020 for its first broadcast on March 25, 2021, on the CLI Studio Digital Platform www.clistudios.com
Dance Theatre of Harlem Inc.
Everett Center for the Performing Arts
466 West 152nd Street New York NY 10031-1814
(212) 690-2800
(212) 690-8736
fax. www.dancetheatreofharlem.org
Board of Directors
Ackneil M. Muldrow III, Chairman
Leslie Wims Morris, Vice-Chairman
Martino R. Moore, Secretary
Kevin M. Cofsky
Richard Constable III
Charles De Santis
Molly A. Hall
Isabel Kallman
Aliya Lee Kong
Sharon Madison
Erika Munro
Carmen Perkins
Azhar Richmond
Tangela Richter
Scott Simpson
Bonita C. Stewart
Peter Sung\
Janice Vickers
China White
Administrative Staff
Robert Garland, Artistic Director
Anna Glass, Executive Director
Jeanine Reynolds, Sr. Director of Philanthropy
Sharon Duncan, Director of Individual Giving
Kristine Liwag, Director of Institutional Giving
Seth Bauer, Manager of Individual Giving
Madeline Sproat, Asst. Mgr. Development Operations
Fatima Jones, Chief Marketing Officer
Keyana K. Patterson, Marketing Manager
Destiny Rosa, Marketing Associate
Billy Zavelson, Press Representative
Alexandra Hutchinson, Derek Brockington, Ingrid Silva Social Media Coordinators
Marc Martin, Senior Director of Finance & Administration
Stephen Foster, Manager of Finance and Administration
Hero Doucas, Human Resources Manager
Dawn Gibson-Brehon, Management Executive
Marino Ferraras, Director of Building Operations
Jordan Oldham, Events & Venues Operations Manager
Kenneth Thomas, Facility Manager
Marco Recinos, Maintenance
Company Staff
Juan Carlos Peñuela, Rehearsal Director
Derrick McBride, Senior Director of Artistic Planning
Melinda Bloom, Company Manager
Alexandra Tenenbaum, Production Manager
Andrea Sala, Lighting Supervisor
Katy Freeman, Wardrobe Supervisor
Donald J. Rose, M.D., Director of the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, NYU Langone Orthopedics
Molly McEvoy, Athletic Trainer & COVID Compliance
Alison Deleget & Joshua Honrado, Harkness Center for Dance Injuries, Physical Therapy & Wellness Consultants
Dance Theatre of Harlem School & Community Programs
Tai Jimenez, School Director
Dawn Gibson-Brehon, Management Executive
Augustus van Heerden, Associate Director Lower/Upper School
Rachel Sekyi, Associate Director, Tendu Program
Gwendolyn Kingsberry, Director, Community Programs & Arts Education
Rachael Davidson, Manager, Community Programs & Arts Education
Karen Farnum-Williams, Student Affairs Officer
Najeree Wallace, School Accountant
Amanda Parache, Virtual School Monitor
Alexis Andrews, Bethania Gomes, Marsha Fay Knight, Darryl Quinton, Danielle Thomas, Sarah Wingo, DTH School Teachers
Rachael Davidson, Tabitha Kelly, Dancing Through Barriers Teachers