O & A- A Conversation With Choreographers Thaddeus Davis and Tonya Wideman-Davis : past-carry-forward Debuts April 23, 2014

By Walter Rutledge

pcf rep

Dance Theatre of Harlem will begin their New York season April 23 at the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center.  Choreographers Tanya Wideman-Davis and Thaddeus Davis have created past-carry-forward  a work that considers the legacy of the Great Northern Migration of African Americans. The migration  from the agrarian South to the industrial North in the early part of the twentieth-century forced many young African Americans into difficult situations. The Harlem Renaissance, the African American presence in a segregated military, working in the segregated service industry as Pullman railroad porters and as entertainers to white American audiences are also considered in the work.

In 2012 I had an opportunity to talk to the choreographers as they began their creative exploration. The choreographic “sketches” were shown to an audience over a period of four weeks as part of the Harlen Dance 2.0 Series. During this period the couple worked with an skeleton crew of four dancers.

The finished work past-carry-forward will make its New York debut on April 23 at the Rose Theater, Jazz at Lincoln Center. For tickets and a complete schedule visit dancetheatreofharlem.org/company/ny-season or talc.org.

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