On April 9, the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Dance Theatre of Harlem announced that the organizations have embarked on a multiyear partnership. As of this spring, UNCSA School of Dance students have had the opportunity to train alongside DTH artists in New York City, and DTH company members will perform […]
I met Christian Claessens as a student at Indiana University. I spent my COVID-19 years learning from him, and I think it established our unique teacher–student relationship. During that time, his classes were on Zoom and very small. Despite the challenge, he could really zero in on those tiny squares, and give us even more […]
Since 2021, Dionne Figgins has led Ballet Tech, New York City’s Public School for Dance, which operates in tandem with the NYC Department of Education. Children across NYC’s boroughs have received not only intensive ballet training but lessons in modern dance, tap, jazz, theater dance, and choreographic repertory. And graduates have gone on to perform […]
Tai Jimenez spent 12 years as a principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. She joined the company at age 17 and later became a principal dancer with Boston Ballet in 2006 and has been a guest artist with New York City Ballet, among other companies. Jimenez, who was chosen to lead the DTH School […]
A new three-summer collaboration between Dartmouth College’s Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover, New Hampshire, and Dance Theatre of Harlem will contribute to conversations on race, activism and equity in the arts, while also exploring creative projects and learning opportunities. Kicking off the partnership in June, DTH focused on the development of The Hazel […]
In 1984, Dance Theatre of Harlem co-founder Arthur Mitchell took one of ballet oldest surviving ballets, Giselle, and gave it a uniquely American twist: He moved the ballet’s setting from medieval Europe to an Afro-Creole community in 1840s Louisiana. The resulting production, Creole Giselle, featured an all-Black cast and was hailed by critics as a […]
One of the most difficult parts of this pandemic is coming to terms with the fact that, not only are almost all artists out of work right now, for some, the work won’t be there any more when the world opens back up: not all dance companies and businesses will make it through to the […]
Back to your routine after the holidays, but still looking for something to watch? Then this new PBS documentary titled Dancing on the Shoulders of Giants is for you. The hour-long film tracks the creation of two dance pieces: Claudia Schreier‘s Passage for Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Sir Richard Alston’s Arrived featuring students of […]
Twenty-one ballet organizations have come together to support the advancement of racial equity in professional ballet. They’re all part of The Equity Project: Increasing the Presence of Blacks in Ballet, a new effort being led by Dance Theatre of Harlem, The International Association of Blacks in Dance and Dance/USA. Continuing What Arthur Mitchell Started While […]
Last Wednesday, Dance Theatre of Harlem co-founder and ballet pioneer Arthur Mitchell died. He was 84 years old and, though vibrant and tenacious as ever, this past year the toll that illness and age were taking on him was visible. In October when he hosted “An Informal Performance on the Art of Dance” to celebrate […]