Dance Theatre of Harlem

GERALD R. FORD AMPHITHEATER

The company returns to the Festival in a headlining performance at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater with a special program featuring George Balanchine’s thrilling Allegro Brillante, DTH Artistic Director Robert Garland’s recent work Nyman String Quartet #2 which was hailed by the Associated Press as “highly athletic and infectiously joyous,” and William Forsythe’s acclaimed Blake Works IV (The Barre Project).

Allegro Brillante is characterized by what Maria Tallchief (the ballerina on whom the bravura leading role was created) calls “an expansive Russian romanticism.” The music’s vigorous pace makes the steps appear even more difficult, but the ballet relies on strong dancing, precise timing, and breadth of gesture. Balanchine said: “It contains everything I know about the classical ballet in 13.” (Source: The George Balanchine Trust)

“I will never, ever let go of our Balanchine roots,” Garland said. “That is something to me that’s a nonnegotiable in terms of our artistic legacy and cultural background.”—The New York Times

Blake Works IV (The Barre Project), 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 the 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.

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

Nyman String Quartet No. 2
“This work is dedicated to the memory of two men whom I admire: John Wesley Carlos, former track and field medal winner at the 1968 Summer Olympics, well known for his triumphant salute upon the winners podium that year, and Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Founder and Artistic Director Emeritus, Mr. Arthur Mitchell (1924–2018), whose similar stand for his people, his community, and the arts “has brought us thus far on our way”—Robert Garland

“Shadowed beneath Thy hand, May we forever stand, True to our God, True to our native land.”

(Lift Every Voice and Sing)

MORE ABOUT DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM

Casting and repertory are subject to change.

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Photo credit: Dance Theatre of Harlem Company Artists Kamala Saara and Derek Brockington. Photo by Nir Arieli