Dance Theatre of Harlem Comes Full Circle in Returning to Jacob’S Pillow This Summer Celebrating Their 50Th Annual Gifts of $10,000 and Above
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PILLOWNOTES JACOB’S PILLOW EXTENDS SPECIAL THANKS by Theresa Ruth Howard TO OUR VISIONARY LEADERS The PillowNotes series comprises essays commissioned from our Scholars-in-Residence to provide audiences with a broader context for viewing dance. VISIONARY LEADERS form an important foundation of support and demonstrate their passion for and commitment to Jacob’s Pillow through Dance Theatre of Harlem comes full circle in returning to Jacob’s Pillow this summer celebrating their 50th annual gifts of $10,000 and above. anniversary, as the company made its debut here in 1970. Half a century later, though much in the world has moved rapidly forward, ironically the state of blacks in ballet has waxed as much as it has waned. Founded by pedagogue Their deep affliliation ensures the success and longevity of the Karel Shook and former New York City Ballet Principal dancer Arthur Mitchell, DTH’s mission was to prove that Pillow’s annual offerings, including educational initiatives, free public blacks could do ballet, and provide a place for them to do so, not to diversify ballet. programs, The School, the Archives, and more. Standing in the midst of ballet’s frenetic efforts to diversify, we see that even as DTH was proving the veracity of black ballet talent, this was not an incentive for white directors to hire them into their companies. It actually had PRESENTS $25,000+ quite the opposite effect, with DTH becoming the default, or catch all. Directors regularly suggested, “Why don’t you go to Dance Theatre of Harlem?” to rejected brown ballet dancers. As a result, DTH became a beautiful oasis DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM Carole* & Dan Burack Christopher Jones* & Deb McAlister for brown dancers, often unique one-of-a-kinds, who didn’t fit into ballet’s status quo but whom Mitchell knew just The Barrington Foundation Wendy McCain how to use and draw the best out of. Ted Shawn Theatre Frank & Monique Cordasco Fred Moses* Hon. Stephan P. Driscoll*, in honor and memory Jennie A. Kassanoff & Dan H. Schulman It is for this reason that DTH has historically been such an interesting and dynamic company to watch. The inherent July 10-14, 2019 of John Lindquist & Barton Mumaw Mark & Taryn Leavitt diversity of the company wasn’t seen elsewhere; it challenged the foundational aesthetics of uniformity in classical Stephanie & Robert ‡ Gittleman Sylvia T. Pope* ballet—not just in color, but in the size and shape of its artists. The DTH ballerina ranged from beige to mahogany, Carolyn Gray & George Peppard Robert & Eileen Rominger waif to womanly, with heights from 5’1” to 6’0”. The uniformity of DTH’s corps de ballet was not in the dancers’ Joan & Jim Hunter physical sameness, but in their classical technique, lines, precision, dynamics, and style. However, even with the FOUNDERS Arthur Mitchell dancers’ mastery of Petipa, Balanchine, Bournonville, Tetley, and the critical successes, artistic directors were not Karel Shook convinced that black ballet dancers (females specifically) were worthy of hiring, especially if their complexions were $10,000+ unmistakably brown. ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Virginia Johnson Ann* & Peter Herbst Dr. Norman Abramson DTH revolutionized the concept of ballet far beyond the racial make-up of its dancers. It was the first ballet Deborah & Charles Adelman Laura* & Nick Ingoglia EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Anna Glass Nancy K. Kalodner institution to hold what we now recognize as “outreach” as a fundamental organizational philosophy in finding and Aliad Fund making ballet dancers, by educating the children of Harlem and the community at large. To make ballet accessible Rick & Nurit Amdur Amy & Richard Kohan BALLET MASTER Kellye A. Saunders Lizbeth & George Krupp not only to black audiences, but to those who could not enter its world, Mitchell curated mixed bill programs Candace* & Rick Beinecke featuring multi-genre ballets from the likes of Petipa, Balanchine, Louis Johnson, and Geoffrey Holder, works that Linda & Bob Berzok Jack & Elizabeth Meyer, in honor of INTERIM GENERAL MANAGER Melinda Bloom Diane & Deval Patrick used classical, pop, and African music. This illustrated why Mitchell put “Theatre” rather than “Ballet” into the Sydelle & Lee Blatt company’s title, as it was more than just traditional ballet. Mitchell and Shook reinvented the aesthetic of the David Carlisle & Morene Bodner Hans* & Kate Morris DANCE ARTISTS Derek Brockington Gov. Deval L. & Diane Patrick “classic" with Creole Giselle proving its elasticity. In these ways DTH was so far ahead of the curve that they created Chervenak-Nunnallé Foundation it. Seldom are Mitchell and Shook recognized for such groundbreaking work. Lindsey Croop Neil* & Kathleen Chrisman Claudia Perles Kouadio Davis Caren & Barry Roseman Ranny Cooper & David Smith Although the current DTH dancers bear the weight of its legacy, most never had an opportunity to see the Da'Von Doane Jeffrey Davis & Michael T. Miller Hunter K. Runnette* & Mark P. VandenBosch Naomi Seligman & Ernie von Simson company perform prior to its eight year absence (from 2004-2012). Those gap years stole the organic, generational Yinet Fernandez David DeFilippo & Lisa Shapiro, in memory of transference of institutional memory. Today’s performers missed the opportunity to experience the ebullience of the Robert Gittleman Mark Sena & Linda Saul-Sena Alicia Mae Holloway Natalie & Howard Shawn large ensemble that operated like a village, with older dancers “adopting” younger dancers into company “families.” Hermine Drezner The organizational credo, “You represent something larger than yourself” was a lived experience. It was embedded Alexandra Hutchinson Sheila Drill Lisbeth Tarlow & Stephen Kay Dustin James Roger Tilles into every dancer who entered DTH with a fervent urgency by a man who personally understood that the world Nancy & Michael Feller was always watching, waiting, and judging. They missed having people like Stephanie Dabney, Lowell Smith, Ronald Choong Hoon Lee David & Nina Fialkow in honor of Stephen Weiner & Donald Cornuet Ellen Weissman Perry, and Virginia Johnson as active role models in the studio. Hence, they have had difficulty connecting to what Daphne Lee* Deval & Diane Patrick and Mark A. Leavitt DTH truly was, and understanding its gravity, importance, and impact. For them, this legacy was folklore. So it was Jeanne Donovan Fisher Mark & Liz Williams Christopher Charles McDaniel* Elaine* & Irving Wolbrom providential that in preparation for The Anniversary Gala they got to work with Mitchell as he restaged Tones, one Joan* & Charlie Gross of his first ballets created for the company. Unfortunately he did not live to see them dance Tones II at City Center in Anthony Santos* April 2019, as he passed away on September 19. Dylan Santos* * Former Trustees, staff, faculty, interns, Crystal Serrano The School’s dancers, or artists-in-residence His Memorial on December 3rd at Riverside Church was an outpouring of acknowledgement and gratitude Ingrid Silva ‡ Deceased from international artists, politicians, family, and friends. Alumni of all varieties traveled from around the world Amanda Smith to pay their respects. His homegoing was a long overdue homecoming for many DTH alumni. In that moment, only a portion of the magnitude of the effect he had on the world was visible, felt, and measurable. This was Anthony V. Spaulding II INSTITUTIONAL SUPPORT a transformative experience for the young company dancers. Through his memorialization they could begin Stephanie Rae Williams As of May 23, 2019 major support for Jacob’s Pillow has been generously provided by the to understand the breadth of what Dance Theatre of Harlem truly represents. It gave the once ephemeral and following institutions: The Arison Arts Foundation; Arnhold Foundation; The Barr Foundation; weighted legacy a face, a voice, made it flesh and blood. They now appear to dance with a deeper sense of purpose The Barrington Foundation; Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation; Blue Cross Blue Shield and pride that is almost palpable. of Massachusetts; The Chervenak-Nunnallé Foundation; The Feigenbaum Foundation; Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation; The Ford Foundation; Howard Gilman Foundation; Harkness Their Jacob’s Pillow programming is perfectly reflective of Dance Theatre of Harlem’s past and its future, paying *Alumni of The School at Jacob's Pillow Foundation for Dance; William Randolph Hearst Foundation; The John S. and James L. homage to Mitchell’s roots and honoring diversity in style, gender, and storytelling. The program features George Knight Foundation; Massachusetts Cultural Council, a state agency; MassDevelopment; The Balanchine’s Valse Fantaisie, Christopher Wheeldon’s This Bitter Earth, Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Harlem on My Mind, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; New England Foundation for the and an expanded version of Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Balamouk (originally created for Fall for Dance). Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; Onota Foundation; The Prospect Hill Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; The Robert and Tina Sohn Foundation; The Spingold Foundation; But most of all, this engagement offers a chance for a reborn Dance Theatre of Harlem to return to its roots, Talented Students in the Arts Initiative, a collaboration of the Doris Duke Charitable celebrating its 50th anniversary in the place where it all began. Foundation and Surdna Foundation; The Thompson Family Foundation; The Velmans Foundation; Weissman Family Foundation; and Jacob’s Pillow Business Partners. © 2019 Theresa Ruth Howard and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Theresa Ruth Howard is a journalist, founder of MoBBallet (Memoir of Blacks in Ballet) and a former member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Currently she works as a Diversity strategist and consultant for arts organizations. FIFTY YEARS OF DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM COMPANY MEMBERSHIP SUPPORTS The past half century of Dance Theatre of Harlem is a landscape of peaks and valleys inhabited her eighth season with Dance and has perfomed in the works of Administrative Staff EVERYTHING YOU LOVE ABOUT Dance Theatre of Harlem and has Arthur Mitchell, Donald Byrd, Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director by a race of dreamers, achievers, and yes, history makers.