Treasured classics meet new works as Dance Theater of Harlem takes center stage Saturday as part of the Vail Dance Festival. “They’re such a beautiful company. The audience is going to have a great time,” said Dante Puleio, Limón Dance Company’s artistic director.
“They bring so much energy and such a different aspect to it — to see ballet on all these different bodies from different places.” In addition to presenting new works, Dance Theater of Harlem carries on the rich tradition of George Balanchine. Company co-founder Arthur Mitchell was not only the first black principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, but also one of Balanchine’s proteges.
Mitchell had planned to help found the National Ballet of Brazil, but after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., he returned to the U.S.
to make a difference in his community by teaching ballet classes with relaxed dress codes in his native Harlem. He launched Dance Theater of Harlem in 1969. “Dance Theater of Harlem was created as a space where Black people could thrive, much like the Black church, where we have our own culture,” said Robert Garland, the company’s artistic director.
Virginia Johnson, a founding member of the company and former artistic director, says it wasn’t about making “a Black ballet company,” but rather making “people aware of the fact that this beautiful art form actually belongs to and can be done by anyone,” according to the company’s website. “He made dancers aware of the fact that they could define their own identity, that they didn’t have to be defined by somebody else’s perception of them.” Like Mitchell, Balanchine also promoted integration in the European-rooted world of ballet.
In fact, Mitchell inspired Balanchine so much that Balanchine granted Mitchell the rights to several ballets. “When Mitchell joined NYCB, it released something in Balanchine,” Johnson wrote. “He started creating some of his greatest work — a different kind of work, something he’d been wanting to do for some time.
” As Garland points out, the company takes a slightly different approach to ballet — even how the dancers hear the music is a little different, he said. Because Garland cherishes the company’s Balanchine roots so much, Saturday’s performance is scheduled to open with Balanchine’s “Allegro Brillante.” “Balanchine choreographed it for his first wife, Maria Tallchief,” he said.
“He wanted to honor his love for the ballerina.” “The music’s vigorous pace makes the steps appear even more difficult,” according to the program. Saturday’s performance also includes “Blake Works IV,” the latest installment in William Forsythe’s evolving “The Barre Project.
” The project began during the pandemic and offered filmed dance for streaming during live-show restrictions. Commissioned for Dance Theatre of Harlem, the live version features freshly choreographed sections, which highlight the diverse talents of the artists. “(It conveys) the intimate relationship ballet dancers have with the barre .
.. (it has) many iterations; he tailor makes them for each company,” Garland said.
The evening also features Garland’s joyous “Nyman String Quartet #2,” which honors Mitchell and John Wesley Carlos, a 1968 Olympian. “It combines the vernacular of African American social dancing with ballet and (showcases) how those things interact,” Garland said, noting it draws upon social dances ranging from jazz to hip hop. Each work portrays how artists can extend the vision of ballet in the 21 st century.
“I’m hoping people will come away both looking back and looking forward, (from) the past of Balanchine to what the future (depicted by Forsythe) holds,” he said. What: Dance Theatre of Harlem When: 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 27 Where: Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater Tickets: Start at $50 for reserved seating; general admission lawn, $32 More info: VailDance.org.
