Download dance theatre of harlem - Michigan Opera Theatre

Arthur Mitchell
FOUNDERS
Karel Shook
ARTISTIC
INTERIM
DIRECTOR
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Virginia Johnson
Anna Glass
BALLET MASTER
Keith Saunders
BALLET MASTER
Kellye A. Saunders
GENERAL MANAGER
Melinda Bloom
DANCE ARTISTS
Lindsey Croop Chyrstyn Fentroy Alicia Mae Holloway
Nayara Lopes Ingrid Silva Alison Stroming
Stephanie Rae Williams Da’Von Doane Gentry George Francis Lawrence Choong Hoon Lee Dylan Santos Anthony Javier Savoy Jorge Andrés Villarini
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR EMERITUS
Arthur Mitchell
DANCE THEATRE
OF HARLEM
Feb. 12-14, 2016
The 2015-2016 Dance Season
is made possible by the
Lear Corporation
With additional
support from
In-School Residency Sponsor
2015-2016 Dance Season
Education Partner
Support for Dance Theatre of Harlem’s 2015/2016 programs and activities made possible in part by:
Aetna, Jody and John Arnhold, The Arts Federation, Con Edison, Davis/Davray Family Fund, Disney Worldwide Services, The Jarvis and Constance Doctorow Family Foundation,
Elephant Rock Foundation, Ford Foundation, The Friars National Association Foundation, Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, The Grand Marnier Foundation, Agnes Gund, The Harkness
Foundation for Dance, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, The Hulitar Family Foundation, The Klein Family Foundation, The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, George Lucas
Family Foundation, John L. McHugh Foundation, New England Foundation for the Arts, The Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Foundation, May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, The Shubert
Foundation, The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, The Thompson Family Foundation, West Harlem Development Corporation, Women’s Sport Foundation, The Xerox Foundation.
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BRAVO • Spring 2016
www.MichiganOpera.org
Michigan Opera Theatre
DANCE THEATRE
OF HARLEM
VESSELS
(World Premiere October 17, 2014)
Choreography: Darrell Grand Moultrie
Music: Ezio Bosso
Costume Design and Execution:
George Hudačko
Lighting Design: Clifton Taylor
Friday, February 12, 2016, 7:30pm
Sunday, February, 14, 2:30 pm
Light
NAYARA LOPES • ALISON STROMING
INGRID SILVA • LINDSEY CROOP
STEPHANIE RAE WILLIAMS
FRANCIS LAWRENCE
DA’VON DOANE • GENTRY GEORGE
ANTHONY JAVIER SAVOY DYLAN SANTOS
Belief
ALISON STROMING • INGRID SILVA
LINDSEY CROOP
STEPHANIE RAE WILLIAMS
Love
NAYARA LOPES • FRANCIS LAWRENCE
Abundance
THE COMPANY
Saturday, February 13, 2016, 7:30 pm
Light
CHYRSTYN FENTROY
ALISON STROMING INGRID SILVA • LINDSEY CROOP STEPHANIE RAE WILLIAMS
JORGE ANDRES VILLARINI
DA’VON DOANE • GENTRY GEORGE
ANTHONY JAVIER SAVOY DYLAN SANTOS
Belief
ALISON STROMING
INGRID SILVA • LINDSEY CROOP
STEPHANIE RAE WILLIAMS
Love
CHRYSTEN FENTROY JORGE ANDRES VILLARINI
Abundance
THE COMPANY
The entire journey is cyclic.
Let us all be infused with something
beautiful that can be transferred to others.
This commission is made possible by the
New York State Council on the Arts with
the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo
and the New York State Legislature.
Michigan Opera Theatre
INTERMISSION
WHEN LOVE
(World Premiere: October 20, 2012)
Choreography: Helen Pickett
Music: Philip Glass
Costume: Charles Heightchew
Original Artwork for Fabric:
Gary Kleinschmidt
Lighting: Mark Stanley
Assistant to the Choreographer:
Kellye A. Saunders
Sunday, February, 14, 2:30 pm
ALISON STROMING
LINDSEY CROOP • INGRID SILVA
This work is inspired by women — Black,
Brown and Beige*— who have refashioned
the neighborhood, the country, the
world, through their vision, courage and
endurance.
Often unsung, sometimes inconspicuous,
these individuals could be called
warriors for change.
—Dianne McIntyre
Friday, February 12, 2016, 7:30pm
CHYRSTYN FENTROY
JORGE ANDRES VILLARINI
Ceremony
Lay it down
Saturday, February 13, 2016, 7:30 pm
NAYARA LOPES • DA’VON DOANE
Sunday, February, 14, 2:30 pm
STEPHANIE RAE WILLIAMS DA’VON DOANE
Insistent time maps our days. But, when
we are in love we surrender to unbridled
time. What we share together during this
span seems “out of time.” And then, too
suddenly, time shifts into focus again. An
imprint of what we shared lingers, and
traces of remembrances float into view.
Yes, we crawl, walk, run, and love in time.
But in these brief, wondrous periods we
experience timeless love, and we dance
our being. — Helen Pickett
Music: Knee 5 from Einstein on the Beach
The choreographer wishes to thank Thomas
F. DeFrantz.
When Love was created as part of Harlem
Dance Works 2.0, an initiative made possible
through a Rockefeller Foundation 2010
NYC Cultural Innovation Grant.
PAUSE
CHANGE
(World Premiere: February 2, 2016)
Choreography: Dianne McIntyre
Music: Traditional: Spelman College Glee
Club, Directors Dr. Roland Allison & Dr.
Kevin Johnson
Original Composition: Eli Fountain
Costumes: Oran Bumroongchart
Lighting: Alexander Fabozzi
Friday, February 12, 2016, 7:30pm
STEPHANIE RAE WILIAMS
LINDSEY CROOP • NAYARA LOPES
Saturday, February 13, 2016, 7:30 pm
STEPHANIE RAE WILIAMS
CHYRSTYN FENTROY • INGRID SILVA
www.MichiganOpera.org
Action
Resolve
*Duke Ellington
INTERMISSION
COMING TOGETHER
(World Premiere 1991, DTH Premiere:
April 8, 2015)
Choreography: Nacho Duato
Music: Frederic Rzewski
Staging: Eva López Crevillén
Costume and Set Design: Nacho Duato
Lighting Design: Nicolas Fischtel
Organization: Carlos Iturrioz/Mediart
Producciones SL (Spain)
Friday, February 12, Saturday February 13,
2016, 7:30pm
CHYRSTYN FENTROY
ALICIA MAE HOLLOWAY
LINDSEY CROOP
ALISON STROMING
INGRID SILVA • NAYARA LOPES
DA’VON DOANE
ANTHONY JAVIER SAVOY
DYLAN SANTOS
GENTRY ISAIAH GEORGE
FRANCIS LAWRENCE
JORGE ANDRES VILLARINI
Sunday, February, 14, 2:30 pm
CHYRSTYN FENTROY
ALICIA MAE HOLLOWAY
LINDSEY CROOP
ALISON STROMING
INGRID SILVA • NAYARA LOPES
DA’VON DOANE
ANTHONY JAVIER SAVOY
CHOONG HOON LEE
GENTRY ISAIAH GEORGE
FRANCIS LAWRENCE
JORGE ANDRES VILLARINI
BRAVO • Spring 2016
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DANCE THEATRE
OF HARLEM
Nacho Duato’s Coming Together is a
complex and exhilarating work that
draws inspiration from the music of
contemporary American composer,
Frederic Rzewski. The score of the same
name uses the repetitive techniques and
structuring of minimalism not as ends in
themselves but as a means of creating a
coherent and dramatic world. Duato has
paralleled Rzewski’s restless repetition
and structural intricacy, creating a highly
physical ballet that is nonetheless also
compelling and poetic.
The repeated, eight-sentence text is drawn
from a letter written by Sam Melville, a
political activist who was incarcerated
at Attica Prison. Melville was killed in
the Attica prison riots that began on
September 9, 1971.
“I think the combination of age and the
greater coming together is responsible for
the speed of the passing time. It’s six months
now and I can tell you truthfully few periods
in my life have passed so quickly. I am in
excellent physical and emotional health.
There are doubtless subtle surprises ahead
but I feel secure and ready.As lovers will
contrast their emotions in times of crisis,
so am I dealing with my environment. In
the indifferent brutality, incessant noise, the
experimental chemistry of food, the ravings
of lost hysterical men, I can act with clarity
and meaning. I am deliberate—sometimes
even calculating--seldom employing
histrionics except as a test of the reactions
of others. I read much, exercise, talk to
guards and inmates, feeling for the inevitable
direction of my life.”
—Sam Melville, Attica Prison,
May 16, 1970
This production is dedicated to the late
Victor Elmaleh, whose generous support
made it possible.
ABOUT DANCE THEATRE
OF HARLEM
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a leading
dance institution of unparalleled global
acclaim that uses the art form of classical
ballet to change people’s lives. Dance
Theatre of Harlem was founded in
1969 by Arthur Mitchell and the late
Karel Shook. Mitchell, the first AfricanAmerican man to become a principal
dancer with a major U. S. ballet company
(New York City Ballet) turned his despair
at the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. into hope by establishing a
school and later a company to bring new
opportunities to the young people in the
Harlem neighborhood where he grew up.
He believed that training in a classical art
form could instill discipline and focus in a
challenged community. Dance Theatre of
Harlem’s unprecedented success is built on
the bold new forms of artistic expression
that arose from the access he created.
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BRAVO • Spring 2016
Through varied artistic interactions,
Dance Theatre of Harlem has inspired
countless people in New York City, across
the country and around the world.
Forty-six years later, Dance Theatre
of Harlem remains committed to the
excellence that has sustained it. At the
same time, it is dedicated to reaching
new audiences with a powerful message
of self-reliance, artistic relevance, and
individual responsibility, all hallmarks of
an organization that has played a key role
in the national cultural dialogue.
Now in its fourth season, a new Dance
Theatre of Harlem Company tours
nationally and internationally with 14
richly diverse dance artists who perform
an eclectic and demanding repertoire at
the highest level. The Dance Theatre
of Harlem School has continued to
train young people from pre-ballet to
professional throughout the organization’s
history and currently trains more than 500
students per year in winter and summer
sessions. Arts education and community
engagement remain a key component of
the DTH mission. The Company engages
community on tour and, here in the New
York metropolitan area, Dancing Through
Barriers, a comprehensive arts education
platform provides access to the lifechanging power of the arts.
SUPPORTING
SUPPORTING
THEARTS
ARTS
THE
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celebratesthe
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Honigman
MichiganOpera
Opera
Theatre’s
Michigan
Theatre’s
2015-2016season.
season.
2015-2016
WWW.HONIGMAN.COM
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Michigan Opera Theatre
DANCE THEATRE
OF HARLEM
VIRGINIA JOHNSON (Artistic Director)
A founding member of Dance Theatre
of Harlem, Virginia Johnson was one of its
principal ballerinas over
a career that spanned
nearly 30 years. After
retiring in 1997, Ms.
Johnson went on to
found Pointe Magazine
and was editor-in chief
for 10 years.
Virginia Johnson is universally
recognized as one of the great ballerinas of
her generation and is perhaps best known
for her performances in the ballets Giselle,
A Streetcar Named Desire, and Fall River
Legend. She has received such honors
as a Young Achiever Award from the
National Council of Women, Outstanding
Young Woman of America and the
Dance Magazine Award, a Pen and Brush
Achievement Award, the Washington
Performing Arts Society’s 2008-2009 Pola
Nirenska Lifetime Achievement Award
and the 2009 Martha Hill Fund MidCareer Award.
ARTHUR MITCHELL (Co-Founder and
Artistic Director Emeritus)
Arthur Mitchell is
known around the
world for creating and
sustaining the Dance
Theatre of Harlem,
the internationally
acclaimed ballet
company he cofounded with Karel Shook in 1969.
Following a brilliant career as a principal
artist with the New York City Ballet, Mr.
Mitchell dedicated his life to changing
perceptions and advancing the art form
of ballet through the first permanently
established African American and racially
diverse ballet company.
Born in New York City in 1934, Mr.
Mitchell began his dance training at New
York City’s High School of the Performing
Arts, where he won the coveted annual
dance award and subsequently a full
scholarship to the School of American
Ballet. In 1955, he became the first male
African American to become a permanent
member of a major ballet company
when he joined New York City Ballet.
Mr. Mitchell rose quickly to the rank of
Principal Dancer during his fifteen-year
career with New York City
Mr. Mitchell founded Dance Theatre
of Harlem with his mentor and ballet
instructor Karel Shook.
With an illustrious career that has
spanned over fifty years, Mr. Mitchell
is the recipient of the Kennedy Center
Honors, a National Medal of the Arts, a
MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, the
New York Living Landmark Award, the
Handel Medallion, the NAACP Image
Award, and more than a dozen honorary
degrees.
THE DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM COMPANY
Lindsey Croop
Da’Von Doane
Chyrstyn Fentroy
Gentry Isaiah George
Alicia Mae Holloway
Midland, Texas
Joined DTH 2012
Salisbury, Maryland
Joined DTH 2008
Los Angeles, California
Joined DTH 2013
Miami, Florida
Joined DTH 2015
Morgantown, West Virginia
Joined DTH 2015
Choong Hoon Lee
Nayara Lopes
Francis Lawrence
Dylan Santos
Seoul, South Korea
Joined DTH 2015
Midland, Texas
Joined DTH 2012
Melbourne, Australia
Joined DTH 2012
Sao Paulo, Brazil
Joined DTH 2012
Anthony Javier Savoy
Ingrid Silva
Alison Stroming
Annapolis, Maryland
Joined DTH 2010
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Joined DTH 2013
Recife, Brazil
Joined DTH 2014
Michigan Opera Theatre
www.MichiganOpera.org
Jorge Andrés Villarini Stephanie Rae Williams
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Joined DTH in 2014
Salt Lake City, Utah
Joined DTH 2010
BRAVO • Spring 2016
11
DANCE THEATRE
OF HARLEM
Keith Saunders (Ballet Master)
the Broadway productions of The Red
joining DTH. Ms. Saunders spent most
Shoes and Porgy and Bess and as a guest
of her career with the Dance Theatre of
artist dancing the role of The Striptease
Harlem where she was a principal dancer.
Girl in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue in a
Some of Ms. Saunders’ featured roles
collaborative project with The New
include Firebird, Giselle, A Song for Dead
York City Ballet. After leaving DTH, Ms.
Warriors, Apollo, Serenade, Adrian (Angel
Saunders joined Ballet NY and Collage
on Earth), The Four Temperaments, The
Dance Collective as a principal dancer.
Moor’s Pavane, Allegro Brillante and Fancy
of her other guest appearances
Free. Ms. Saunders has also appeared in B:5.75Some
in
T:5.5 in
S:4.75 in
Elegance is an attitude
Kate Winslet
Ms. Saunders began her dance
training at the Jones-Haywood School
of Ballet in Washington, DC. She
continued her dance
education with
Rosella Hightower at
Le Centre de Danse
International in
Cannes, France under
the tutelage of Rosella
Hightower, before
Michigan Opera Theatre
430 North Old Woodward Birmingham, Michigan 48009
greenstonesjewelers.com
Conquest Classic
www.MichiganOpera.org
BRAVO • Spring 2016
This advertisement was prepared by:
13
T:8.5 in
Kellye A. Saunders (Ballet Master)
B:8.75 in
S:7.75 in
Keith Saunders, a native of Baltimore,
Maryland, began dancing in 1971
while a student at
Harvard University.
He began his ballet
training in 1973 at
the National Center
for Afro-American
Artists in Dorchester,
Massachusetts.
Mr. Saunders joined Dance Theatre
of Harlem in 1975 and continued his
development under the tutelage of
Arthur Mitchell, Karel Shook, and
William Griffith. He became a principal
dancer with DTH and performed a
wide range of roles throughout the
company’s repertoire for more than 17
years. He also danced with France’s
Ballet du Nord (1986) and BalletMet
of Columbus, Ohio (1987-1989). As
a guest artist, Mr. Saunders appeared
with Boston Repertory Ballet, Maryland
Ballet, Eglevsky Ballet, Ballethnic
Dance Company, and the David Parsons
Company, among others. He has been
a faculty member of the Dance Theatre
of Harlem School, the BalletMet Dance
Academy (where he also served as
Education Director), the New Ballet
School (now Ballet Tech), and the
92nd Street Y. In 2003, Mr. Saunders
was Guest Artist-in-Residence in the
Dance Department at the University
of Wyoming, and he taught and
choreographed at their Snowy Range
Dance Festival from 2003 – 2008. Keith
Saunders was appointed Dance Theatre
of Harlem’s assistant ballet master in
1994 and ballet master in 1996. From
2004-2010, Mr. Saunders was Director
of Dancing Through Barriers®, Dance
Theatre of Harlem’s international
education and outreach initiative,
in addition to directing the DTH
Ensemble.
DANCE THEATRE
OF HARLEM
include performances with Washington
Ballet, Maryland Ballet, Ballethnic
Dance Company, Gala of International
Ballet Stars, Configurations Dance
Company, The Flint Institute of Music,
Complexions Contemporary Dance and
The Metropolitan Opera. Ms. Saunders
has had extensive experience teaching and
coaching dancers at both academic and
professional levels. From 2010-2013, Ms.
Saunders served as the project coordinator
for the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Harlem
Dance Works 2.0 Series. Harlem Dance
Works 2.0 was a series of choreographic
workshops whose purpose was to produce
new repertoire for the Dance Theatre of
Harlem Company. She is currently a Ballet
Master of the Dance Theatre of Harlem
Company.
Dance Theatre of Harlem, Inc.
Everett Center for the Performing Arts
466 West 152nd Street
New York, NY 10031-1814
(212) 690-2800, (212) 690-8736 fax
www.dancetheatreofharlem.org
Board of Directors
Michael D. Armstrong, Chairman
Leslie Wims Morris, Vice-Chairman
Ackneil M. Muldrow, III, Vice-Chairman
Zandra Perry Ogbomo, Treasurer
Don M. Tellock, Esq., Secretary
Kendrick F. Ashton Jr.
Nancy Pforzheimer Aronson
Frank Baker
Reverend Dr. Calvin O. Butts III
Kevin M. Cofsky
Isabel Kallman
Sylvia R. Lindsey
Spencer Means
Jessye Norman
Asha Richards
Robert Garland (Resident
Choreographer)
The New York Times said, “Gloria,
Robert Garland’s 2012 ballet celebrating
Dance Theater of
Harlem’s rebirth is a
transcendent work
that relies as much on
imagination as steps.”
Robert Garland was
a member of the Dance
Theatre of Harlem
Company achieving the rank of principal
dancer. After creating a work for the DTH
School Ensemble, Arthur Mitchell invited
Robert Garland to create a work for
The Dance Theatre of Harlem Company
and appointed him the organization’s
first Resident Choreographer. He is also
Director of the Professional Training
Program of the DTH school, and the
organization’s webmaster.
In addition to choreographing several
ballets for DTH, Mr. Garland has also
created works for New York City Ballet,
Britain’s Royal Ballet, Oakland Ballet
and many others. His commercial work
has included music videos, commercials
and short films, including the children’s
television show Sesame Street, a Nike
commercial featuring New York Yankee
Derek Jeter, the NAACP Image Awards, a
short film for designer Donna Karan, and
the “Charmin Cha-Cha” for Proctor and
Gamble. Mr. Garland holds a Bachelor of
Fine Arts Degree from the Juilliard School
in New York City.
14
BRAVO • Spring 2016
Staff
Artistic Director........................................ Virginia Johnson
Executive Consultants............................. Anna Glass, Dawn Gibson-Brehon
Director, Individual Giving...................... Sharon Duncan
Marketing Manager.................................. Keyana K. Patterson
HR Consultant ......................................... Gina Puppo
Facilities & Operations Manager............. Jack F Lynch
Company Staff
Ballet Master............................................. Keith Saunders
Ballet Master............................................. Kellye A. Saunders
General Manager...................................... Melinda Bloom
Production Stage Manager....................... Jack F Lynch
Lighting Supervisors................................ Alex Fabozzi, William Cotton
Wardrobe Supervisor................................ Oran Bumroongchart
Company Pianist...................................... Coty Cockrell
Booking Manager..................................... Edward Schoelwer
Resident Choreographer.......................... Robert Garland
Physical Therapists .................................. Alison Deleget & Joshua Honrado,
................................................................. Harkness Center for Dance Injuries
Dance Theatre of Harlem School
Lower/Upper School Director.................. Augustus van Heerden
School Administrator............................... Kenya Massey-Rodriguez
Student Affairs Officer.............................. Karen Farnum-Williams
Business Affairs Officer............................ Ruben Ortiz
Dancing Through Barriers
Education/Outreach Administrator.......... Roberto Villanueva
Program Associate.................................... Theara Ward
www.MichiganOpera.org
Michigan Opera Theatre