Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) performed at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach. The audience was a mix of ages and ethnic groups, but I was particularly drawn to the abundance of Brown and Black faces. As a dancer, particularly a dance educator, one who teaches both dance appreciation and dance history, DTH is central to discourse surrounding units on Black Dance in America, Ballet History, and Racism in Ballet so, attending this performance is monumental for many reasons.
The row in front of me included a Black family of 10, mom and dad, their 6 kids, as well as the grandparents. The little girls were dressed in all pink, dresses, tights, headbands, and various jackets/shawls. The two older sisters who looked very close in age, sat on the edge of their seats soaking it all in. I wondered what conversations were held in their home about the company, what they knew and saw about DTH previously, what seeing this Black company means to them, and the impact it will make.
Before the show began, artistic director Robert Garland greeted the house, providing us with a little history in terms of the financial struggles that they endured. He asked dance patron Sharon Luckman whose resume includes Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation as well as having received the Dance USA Trustees award to stand, thanking her for saving the company financially.
Four works were performed, New Bach (2001), Take Me With You (2024), Higher Ground (2022), and Donizetti Variations (1960). “New Bach,” choreographed by Robert Garland, was chock full of attitude, Black vernacular dance, and aesthetics, Balanchine-esque nuances, which included pelvis thrusts, finger snaps and hip rolls. The dancers were elegant, sassy, playful, and dynamic while executing beautiful big jumps, jeté’s, battements, and pirouettes.
“Take me With You,” choreographed by Robert Bondara featured a duet which began with the female dancer clapping, reminding me of the Afro Cuban clavé rhythm. Then the wonderful drumming and shaker sounds permeated the auditorium, I eagerly anticipated where this couple would take us. This contemporary work featured beautiful movement, demonstrating the technical prowess of the dancers but I searched to locate the soul and passion.
“Higher Ground,” another work by Garland, featured a medley of Stevie Wonder songs as well as Wonder with a few collaborators. The dancers wore flowing earth tone costumes which could be symbolic of a few things. There was a lot going on kinesthetically, culturally, and politically. The most glaring note is related to “fusion” as a choreographic and aesthetic construct. Overall, the choreography which features ballet technique is clear, in execution and transitions in terms of connection to phrases and ideas but the other sections seemed “different.” It has been stated by Marlon Riggs in the 1995 award winning documentary ‘Black is…Black Ain’t” that explores Black expressiveness, determining that Blackness is on a spectrum. Through my research, most understand this and agree, but I query if this theory is relative to Black dance/movement?
To be clear, are we all expected to perform Black vernacular movement the same way? Are there certain movements and aesthetic markers that must be present? For some, the answer is a resounding yes. Brenda Dixon Gottchild’s “Africanist Principles”, Dr. Kariamu Welsh’s “7 African Aesthetic Senses,” and Thomas “Talawa” Presto’s “Dancing Well vs Dancing Correct: A Smaddieaesthetic Approach” (and many other scholars!) discuss elements that are present in Black dance. This query goes back to discussions about the ways the body trains and what movement forms are needed to perform particular genres. As I viewed the work, I really had questions about the body rolls that were not being completed, that began at the chest and ended in the waist, hip rolls that were not completed, the stiff and locked hips during the hip toss and hip flicks, the minute hip accents, and the dancehall “Butterfly” movement that was almost missed due to lack of clarity. Overall, the social Black vernacular dances just looked “different.” Maybe that was the intention???
Donizetti Variations choreographed by George Balanchine, closed the performance. It was traditional in every sense, featuring entrances, exits, lifts, partnering, ensemble work, solos, and rigorous footwork. This piece is unbelievably technical and fantastic to watch. The audience loved it and acknowledged their wonderment through wild clapping and a standing ovation.
Images
1. Higher Ground
Photography: Christopher Duggan
The row in front of me included a Black family of 10, mom and dad, their 6 kids, as well as the grandparents. The little girls were dressed in all pink, dresses, tights, headbands, and various jackets/shawls. The two older sisters who looked very close in age, sat on the edge of their seats soaking it all in. I wondered what conversations were held in their home about the company, what they knew and saw about DTH previously, what seeing this Black company means to them, and the impact it will make.
Before the show began, artistic director Robert Garland greeted the house, providing us with a little history in terms of the financial struggles that they endured. He asked dance patron Sharon Luckman whose resume includes Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation as well as having received the Dance USA Trustees award to stand, thanking her for saving the company financially.
Four works were performed, New Bach (2001), Take Me With You (2024), Higher Ground (2022), and Donizetti Variations (1960). “New Bach,” choreographed by Robert Garland, was chock full of attitude, Black vernacular dance, and aesthetics, Balanchine-esque nuances, which included pelvis thrusts, finger snaps and hip rolls. The dancers were elegant, sassy, playful, and dynamic while executing beautiful big jumps, jeté’s, battements, and pirouettes.
“Take me With You,” choreographed by Robert Bondara featured a duet which began with the female dancer clapping, reminding me of the Afro Cuban clavé rhythm. Then the wonderful drumming and shaker sounds permeated the auditorium, I eagerly anticipated where this couple would take us. This contemporary work featured beautiful movement, demonstrating the technical prowess of the dancers but I searched to locate the soul and passion.
“Higher Ground,” another work by Garland, featured a medley of Stevie Wonder songs as well as Wonder with a few collaborators. The dancers wore flowing earth tone costumes which could be symbolic of a few things. There was a lot going on kinesthetically, culturally, and politically. The most glaring note is related to “fusion” as a choreographic and aesthetic construct. Overall, the choreography which features ballet technique is clear, in execution and transitions in terms of connection to phrases and ideas but the other sections seemed “different.” It has been stated by Marlon Riggs in the 1995 award winning documentary ‘Black is…Black Ain’t” that explores Black expressiveness, determining that Blackness is on a spectrum. Through my research, most understand this and agree, but I query if this theory is relative to Black dance/movement?
To be clear, are we all expected to perform Black vernacular movement the same way? Are there certain movements and aesthetic markers that must be present? For some, the answer is a resounding yes. Brenda Dixon Gottchild’s “Africanist Principles”, Dr. Kariamu Welsh’s “7 African Aesthetic Senses,” and Thomas “Talawa” Presto’s “Dancing Well vs Dancing Correct: A Smaddieaesthetic Approach” (and many other scholars!) discuss elements that are present in Black dance. This query goes back to discussions about the ways the body trains and what movement forms are needed to perform particular genres. As I viewed the work, I really had questions about the body rolls that were not being completed, that began at the chest and ended in the waist, hip rolls that were not completed, the stiff and locked hips during the hip toss and hip flicks, the minute hip accents, and the dancehall “Butterfly” movement that was almost missed due to lack of clarity. Overall, the social Black vernacular dances just looked “different.” Maybe that was the intention???
Donizetti Variations choreographed by George Balanchine, closed the performance. It was traditional in every sense, featuring entrances, exits, lifts, partnering, ensemble work, solos, and rigorous footwork. This piece is unbelievably technical and fantastic to watch. The audience loved it and acknowledged their wonderment through wild clapping and a standing ovation.
Images
1. Higher Ground
Photography: Christopher Duggan
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