When the ballet Giselle was created in 1841, it was not imagined to be performed by men and women of color, Black men and women. In 1984, Dance Theatre of Harlem Co-Founder Arthur Mitchell changed that. The acclaimed DTH production of this classic, Creole Giselle, was re-conceived by Arthur Mitchell and staged by Frederic Franklin, based on the original by Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot
“Dance can elevate our human experience beyond words,” says Judith Jamison, artistic director emerita of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In between performances of excerpts from Alvin Ailey’s classic works “Revelations” and “Cry,” Jamison reflects on the enduring power of dance to transform history into art that thrills audiences around the world. (Performances by Solomon Dumas, Samantha Figgins and Constance Stamatiou)
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs a full live evening of dance. In this 2015 Lincoln Center at Home rebroadcast. the works presented include: Chroma by Wayne McGregor ‘Grace,’ Artistic Director Robert Battle’s ‘Takademe’ and the company’s signature work Revelations choreographed by company founder Alvin Ailey.
A tribute to the great jazz musician Charlie “Bird” Parker, For ‘Bird’ – With Love brings the audience back to the relaxed atmosphere of an after-hours jam session at a local jazz club. Continue reading
The Moor’s Pavane is a 20-minute ballet based upon the tragedy Othelle by William Shakespeare. The ballet was choreographed by Jose’ Limon in 1949 to music from Henry Purcell’s Abdelazer, The Gordion Knot Untied, and the pavane from Pavane and Chaconne for Strings, arranged by Simon Sadoff. Continue reading
Dance Theatre of Harlem mourns the loss of the great Louis Johnson. His ballet, Forces of Rhythm choreographed in 1971, became a signature piece for the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company, finding its place alongside the works of George Balanchine, Arthur Mitchell, Geoffrey Holder, and other choreographers for the fledging ballet company. Continue reading
Lark Ascending set to Ralph Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending- Romance for Violin and Orchestra with choreography by Alvin Ailey. The ballet made both its company and world premiere at New York City Center during the 1972 season. Continue reading
Talley Beatty choreographed and performed Mourner’s Bench in 1947. It represents the anguish and loss for former slaves, now free men, killed during the Reconstruction Era at the beginning of the rise of the Klu Klux Klan. Beatty explained to me, “People were murdered by the Klan and at daybreak their relatives would find their bodies in the fields still covered in the morning dew.”
Geoffrey Holder’s Banda dance debuted in the 1954 Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House Of Flowers. Holder the Baron of The Cemetery (based on the Haitian Loa of Death Baron Samedi) received both a performer and choreographer credit in the program. The Broadway musical takes place somewhere in the West Indies during Mardi Gras weekend. Continue reading
Deborah Manning performs Alvin Ailey’s tribute to woman (especially our mothers) Cry (1971). Continue reading
