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Opening the week, the first program features the three companies in a shared program of works as well as Byrd’s world premiere to close out the evening.

Dance Theatre of Harlem will perform Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Balamouk. Telling the story of a group of colorful individuals on a journey of hope, the ballet is set to the sounds and rhythms of North African music.

The company will also perform Odalisques Variations from the second act of Le Corsaire. This version, conducted by Dr. Leslie Dunner, is a contemporary staging by DTH company artist Dylan Santos after Marius Petipa’s choreography with music by Adolphe Adam and Cesare Pugni.

Ballethnic Dance Company brings Co-Artistic Director Waverly T. Lucas II’s Sanctity, a 10-dancer ballet with music in collaboration with L. Gerard Reid. Influenced by African dance concepts and originally commissioned by Baba Chuck Davis for the National Black Arts Festival, the piece expresses the importance of collective work of a community by knowing one’s purpose. Dancers contributed to the ballet by creating a statement to serve as a backdrop for their poetic and dance expression providing insight to who they are. Performed to live music onstage, the score was inspired by percussion instruments from American, African, and Hispanic cultures. 

Collage Dance Collective will perform Bluff City Blues, a new work paying homage to the rich musical heritage of the company’s hometown of Memphis by internationally-known choreographer Amy Hall Garner.

Balamouk

21 minutes

Intermission

20 minutes

Odalisques Variations from Le Corsaire

9 minutes

Sanctity

28 minutes

Intermission

20 minutes

Bluff City Blues

19 minutes

Donald Byrd Commission

16 minutes

Total Run Time

2 Hours 22 Minutes

The second program, beginning on June 17, features a work from each of the three companies along with Byrd’s world premiere.

Gloria, from Dance Theatre of Harlem, is a tribute to the spiritual legacy of Harlem and will be conducted by Dunner. Choreographed in 2012 by Resident Choreographer Robert Garland, it is set to Francis Poulenc’s “Glory to God in the Highest” for orchestra, soprano, and choir. The ballet also includes Washington, D.C. metropolitan area dance students.

Ballethnic Dance Company will perform excerpts from its signature work, The Leopard Tale. Choreographed by Lucas, the work fuses ballet and African dance in a high-energy performance about a tale of survival in the African jungle with an original score by Reid.

Set in an enchanted South African jungle, Collage Dance Collective closes the program with Artistic Director Kevin Thomas’ Firebird. Conducted by Kalena Bovell, the work’s set design, costumes, and movement take inspiration from the Zulu/XhosaI culture in South Africa. In addition, Stravinsky’s powerful score is brought to life by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra.

Gloria

24 minutes

Intermission

20 minutes

Excerpt from The Leopard Tale

17 minutes

Donald Byrd Commission

16 minutes

Intermission

20 minutes

Firebird

16 minutes

Total Run Time

2 Hours 15 Minutes

For many of these dancers, they have never experienced a ballet environment where they were reflected in the bodies around them. This creates a “one, or one of a few” syndrome that can be culturally isolating. This creative process offers a unique opportunity for these young artists to experience ballet in a balletic environment where they are not the exception, but the rule. In addition to the choreographic process, dancers will be invited to engage in artistic and cultural dialogues about the changing landscape of the field. Together they will offer their visions of what change looks and feels like, share their experiences in their respective companies, their aspirations, and learn about the long international legacy of Blacks in ballet. We are working to inundate the space with teachers and mentors who will enrich their experience together.

Ms. Howard and Mr. Byrd have carefully curated the cast of dancers. They represent various aspects of the future of ballet including artistic excellence, advocacy, and aspirations of choreography or leadership.