Dance Theatre of Harlem wraps up 2017-18 Fine Arts Series with an exclamation point

The Dance Theatre of Harlem sure doesn’t act like it is 50 years old.

The 16-member, multi-ethnic ballet company, which was founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook, performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture.

In short, these dancers will amaze you.

The Dance Theatre of Harlem will make a visit to wrap up Fine Arts Series for the 2017-18 season at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University with an exclamation point, performing at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5, at Escher Auditorium, Benedicta Arts Center, CSB.

“Presenting the Dance Theatre of Harlem is an exceptional opportunity for CSB, SJU and for audiences in this region,” said Tanya Gertz, executive director of Fine Arts Programming. “This iconic company performs at the highest level and has done so much to redefine our cultural perception of ballet.”

This event was a late addition to the Fine Arts 2017-18 schedule that was originally released in summer 2017, but “this opportunity was simply too amazing for us to pass up,” Gertz said.

“CSB and SJU has presented some of the most acclaimed names in dance over the last five decades, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem certainly ranks near the top of our list,” Gertz said.

Mitchell founded the company in 1969 in the aftermath of the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King to offer children – particularly those in Harlem, where he was born – with the opportunity to learn about dance and the allied arts.

Closing in on its fifth decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem has grown into a multi-cultural dance institution with an extraordinary legacy of providing opportunities for creative expression and artistic excellence that continues to set standards in the performing arts.     

The program at CSB will include (with notes from the Dance Theatre of Harlem):

• Brahms Variations, choreography by Robert Garland, music by Johannes Braham. The inspiration for the ballet is Louis XIV, the French Patron of the Arts. Garland said that Mitchell was a big persona in his life, a Harlem version of the French monarch. The ballet is, in part, Louis the XIV’s court meeting Harlem swag.
• This Bitter Earth©, choreography by Christopher Wheeldon, music by Clyde Otis. The ballet is set to a mashup of Max Richter’s minimalist “On the Nature of Daylight” and Dinah Washington’s soulful rendition of the 1960s rhythm and blues hit, “This Bitter Earth.” The resulting brief encounter between a man and a woman leads one to believe the bitter earth may not be so bitter after all.
• Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven, choreography by Ulysses Dove, music by Arvo Pärt. Subtitled “Odes to Love and Loss,” the ballet was choreographed for the Royal Swedish Ballet in 1993 during a challenging period in Dove’s life. Having lost 13 friends and relatives, including his father, he wanted to create a story without words to create a poetic monument over people Dove loved. The ballet invites dancer and viewer alike to live in each moment as if it were their last.  
• Harlem on My Mind, choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie, music by (among others) the Count Basie Orchestra, Wynton Marsalis, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and Rogers and Hart. This work was created to celebrate the memory of music teacher Gwendolyn McLoud, a lover of jazz who made sure her students in Harlem were exposed to the history and brilliance of jazz music. The hope is to continue sharing this music with the next generation.

Dance Theatre of Harlem will host a workshop for beginning and intermediate ballet dancers (ages 13 and up) at 10:30 a.m. May 5 at the Helgeson Dance Studio, Benedicta Arts Center, CSB. Ballet slippers are preferred; participants are asked to wear clothing they can comfortably dance in.

The workshop is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required due to space. Contact the Benedicta Arts Center at 320-363-5777 to register.

Tickets for the performance are $26 for adults, $23 for seniors, $19 for CSB and SJU faculty and staff, $15 for students and youth with ID and $10 for CSB and SJU students.

For tickets, call the Benedicta Arts Center Box Office at 320-363-5777 or order online.

The performance is sponsored by Michael and Karel Helgeson; El-Jay Plumbing and Heating; Times Media; John and Maryanne Mahowald; and Heather Pieper-Olson and Todd Pieper.

These activities are made possible in part by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

This activity is also made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Central MN Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.