Dance Theatre of Harlem will return to the New York stage on Ap5, 2022 with their annual Vision Gala titled With Gratitude…, followed by participation in the first ever City Center Dance Festival. They join other NY companies – Paul Taylor Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico, and Martha Graham Dance Company – in this celebration of the return of dance at City Center after two years away.
With Gratitude… expresses the company’s immense thanks to all who supported them during this time of extraordinary change, the evening will feature the New York premieres of both a richly expanded version of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s recent hit Balamouk – featuring a live performance by Grammy-winning klezmer band The Klezmatics – and Resident Choreographer Robert Garland’s newest ballet, Higher Ground, set to the timeless music of Stevie Wonder. Rounding out the evening’s performances is Odalisques Variations from Petipa’s Le Corsaire, staged by company artist Dylan Santos.
Emmy, Golden Globe, and Tony Award-winning dancer, actor, choreographer, director, and producer Debbie Allen is set to receive the Arthur Mitchell Vision Award at the 2022 Vision Gala performance.
Presented annually to an artist whose legacy is founded on exceptional contributions to the arts community, the award is named for and was inaugurally received by Dance Theatre of Harlem co-founder Arthur Mitchell.
Honorees to be recognized during the Gala Dinner at the Ziegfeld Ballroom include the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, recipient of the Carl and Lily Pforzheimer Award, and Dr. Wendy Ziecheck, Dr. Donald J. Rose, and the NYU Langone Health/Harkness Center for Dance Injuries Medical Team who will each receive the DTH Chairman’s Award.
Two evenings of repertory performances follow the gala, adding a third New York premiere for an evening of thrilling works new to New York City audiences.
Robert Garland’s Higher Ground and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Balamouk (extended version) continue on the bill, along with the addition of Passage, Claudia Schreier’s creation originally slated for Dance Theatre of Harlem’s 50th anniversary homecoming season, postponed due to the shutdown of live performances in New York. The breathtaking work, with live music from composer Jessie Montgomery, marks the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to the colony of Virginia in 1619.
Dance Theatre of Harlem at City Center Dance Festival Programming
FRIDAY, APRIL 8 at 7:30PM & SUNDAY, APRIL 10 at 5PM
Higher Ground – Robert Garland
Passage – Claudia Schreier
Balamouk (extended version) – Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
SATURDAY, APRIL 9 at 2PM
Higher Ground – Robert Garland
Odalisques Variations from Le Corsaire – Dylan Santos after Marius Petipa
Balamouk (extended version – Annabelle Lopez Ochoa
Featured Photo of Company Artist Ingrid Silva in Odalisques Variations from Le Corsaire. Photo by Theik Smith.
