Dance Theatre of Harlem is one of New York City’s legendary Ballet companies.
The first Black Classical Ballet company was founded by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook (Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo, New York City Ballet) in 1971.
Mitchell, a George Balanchine protégé, was New York City Ballet’s first African American principal dancer. The two seemed to inspire each other. Dance Theatre of Harlem is a home of Balanchine Technique along with New York City Ballet, Boston Ballet, Washington Ballet and Miami City Ballet. That’s some good company.
Today, Dance Theatre of Harlem is led by Artistic Director Virginia Johnson and Executive Director Anna Glass. Resident Choreographer Robert Garland will become Artistic Director on July 1, 2023 when Johnson retires.
The Company is mostly African American and American Latin, but has wonderful Brazilian, Cuban, and Haitian dancers. 🇺🇸🇧🇷🇨🇺🇭🇹
Dance Theatre of Harlem Tickets
Tickets are usually sold through presenting theaters.
Dance Theatre of Harlem
466 West 152nd St
(between Amsterdam & Convent Ave)
Hamilton Heights, Manhattan
Subways
(A)(C) to 155th St (4 blocks)
(1) to 157th St (5 blocks)
Dance Theatre of Harlem News
Twitter @DTHballet
Instagram @dancetheatreofharlem
Performances
Dance Theatre of Harlem Bids Farewell to Artistic Director Virginia Johnson at New York City Center
Wednesday-Sunday, April 19-23, 2023
NEW YORK CITY CENTER
Midtown, Manhattan
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The BAAND Together Dance Festival 2022 Brings Ailey, ABT, Ballet Hispánico, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and City Ballet to Lincoln Center for Free!
Tuesday-Saturday, August 9-13, 2022
LINCOLN CENTER
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The BAAND Together Dance Festival Presents NYC’s Iconic Dance Companies Outdoors at Lincoln Center
DAMROSCH PARK
Lincoln Center
Tuesday-Saturday, August 17-21, 2021
Workshops 4pm, Shows 7:30pm
FREE
April 2023
Dance Theatre of Harlem presents New York premieres by William Forsythe and Tiffany Rea-Fisher, George Balanchine’s “Allegro Brillante” and works by Resident Choreographer Robert Garland at New York City Center in Midtown, Manhattan, Wednesday-Sunday, April 19-23, 2023. From $35. 🌍🇺🇸🇧🇷🇨🇺🇭🇹
This is going to be Artistic Director Virginia Johnson’s farewell. @virginia_johnsondth
William Forsythe @william_forsythe_
Tiffany Rea-Fisher @treafisher
Robert Garland @robertgarland
September 2022
2022-23 Dancers:
- Yinet Fernandez is from Mariano’ La Habana, Cuba. @f.yinet 🇨🇺
- Sanford Placide is from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. @placidesanford 🇭🇹
- Dylan Santos is from São Paulo, Brazil. @dyldylsantos 🇧🇷
- Ingrid Silva is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. @ingridsilva 🇧🇷
September 15, 2022 ~ Julia Jacobs of the New York Times reported the company announced that Resident Choreographer Robert Garland will become Artistic Director on July 1, 2023 when Virginia Johnson retires.
Johnson, a former principal dancer and founder of Pointe magazine, was picked by co-founder Arthur Mitchell to relaunch the company in 2009. She did it. She planned to retire a few years ago, but stayed on to guide the company through the pandemic.
Garland was also mentored by Mitchell becoming a principal dancer and the company’s first resident choreographer. Robert says he wants to re-establish connections with the dance community in Brazil and will carry on the legacy of George Balanchine, New York City Ballet co-founder and the father of American ballet.
This is great news because it means Dance Theatre of Harlem is growing!
August 2022
Dance Theatre of Harlem joins the BAAND Together 2022 dance festival at Lincoln Center, Tuesday-Saturday, August 9-13, 2022. Free.
April 2022
Dance Theatre of Harlem at the 1st City Center Dance Festival starts with a Gala Performance that includes the NY premieres of “Higher Ground” and an extended “Balamouk” by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa at New York City Center in Midtown, Tue, Apr 5 at 7pm. From $35. nycitycenter.org 🇧🇷🇨🇴🇨🇺🇭🇹🇺🇸
Dance Theatre of Harlem at the 1st City Center Dance Festival presents two programs that include the NY premieres of “Higher Ground” and an extended “Balamouk” by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa at New York City Center in Midtown, Fri-Sun, Apr 8-10. From $35. nycitycenter.org 🇧🇷🇨🇴🇨🇺🇭🇹🇺🇸
October 2021
Dance Theatre of Harlem does pop-up performances inspired by Yayoi Kusama’s sculptures in the Kusama garden at the NY Botanical Garden in The Bronx, Sat-Sun, Oct 16-17, 2021 from 2-5pm. From $25 nybg.org 🇧🇷🇨🇺🇭🇹🇺🇸
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a Ballet Company that Keeps Rising
The first Black classical ballet company was co-founded by Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook. Mitchell was inspired to found Dance Theatre of Harlem by the death of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Mitchell danced through barriers and wanted to give other kids from his neighborhood the same opportunities.
Mitchell was New York City Ballet’s first African-American dancer (1956-1968). He was the world’s first Black international ballet star. Mitchell is remembered for his dancing in Balanchine’s “Agon” and as Puck in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
Shook danced with Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo, on Broadway, and with New York City Ballet. Mitchell, Alvin Ailey, Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder were all Shook students.
These are important connections to George Balanchine, one of the founding fathers of ballet in the United States. Not everybody is able to dance Balanchine well, but Dance Theatre of Harlem can. It’s in the direct line.
Dance Theatre of Harlem debuted in 1971 at the Guggenheim Museum. Both Balanchine and Jerome Robbins helped create repertoire. Robbins loved African-American dance traditions. You can see it in his choreography, especially on Broadway.
A Touring Company and Ballet School
Dance Theatre of Harlem is a touring company and a ballet school. It also does important arts education and community outreach.
Ballet teaches more than dance. It teaches respect, discipline, health and poise. Whether you become a professional dancer or not, these skills will serve you for your entire life.
In 2020, the company is led by founding ballerina Virginia Johnson. It is mostly African-American, but also has Brazilian, Creole, Cuban and Haitian dancers.
2022 Dancers:
- Yinet Fernandez is from Mariano’ La Habana, Cuba. 🇨🇺
- Sanford Placide is from Port-au-Prince, Haiti. 🇭🇹
- Anthony Santos is from New York City. 🇺🇸
- Dylan Santos is from São Paulo, Brazil. 🇧🇷
- Crystal Serrano is from Denver, Colorado. 🇺🇸
- Ingrid Silva is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 🇧🇷
A Home for Caribbean Creole Culture
Caribbean Creole culture of Haiti, Trinidad and New Orleans is not well understood in the United States, even though it is one of the taproots of a lot of African American culture and Latin culture.
Creole in the Caribbean is mostly African-French. Ballet is an Italian court dance that was developed in France. Very few companies can tell Creole stories the way Dance Theatre of Harlem can.
One of the company’s most popular ballets is Geoffrey Holder’s “Dougla.” It’s a wedding ballet and costume pageant set in Trinidad’s African-South Asian community. That’s another golden thread in the rich quilt of diversity that is African-American culture today.
