Many DTH Alumni live and work on the west coast and several of them gathered on Saturday, May 22 for a special panel discussion held at the California African American Museum in conjunction with the current exhibition, “Dance Theatre of Harlem: 40 Years of Firsts.”  The spirited panelists reflected on their triumphs and struggles as members of the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem Company.

In 1997, I was working on another Broadway show when I heard that Dance Theatre of Harlem was looking for a sound engineer to go on tour with the Company.

FEB 4 – JULY 4, 2010

Dance Theatre of Harlem has made history in the 41 years since it was founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and the late Karel Shook. This multi-media exhibit captures the majesty of the choreography, the beauty of the costuming, the dancers who defied gravity and stereotyping, plus Mitchell’s wide ranging accomplishments. Focusing on the discipline of dance, he brought ballet to Harlem and DTH evolved from the school adding a world class touring company as its artists became powerful ambassadors for all of America. In 2009, the New York Public Libraryfor the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and DTH exhibited the company’s rare costumes, photos and other memorabilia. The California African American Musuem has supplemented the exhibit with the staging of costumes and video from four iconic ballets, added life-sized banners and other imagery to illuminate the forty years of history during which Dance Theatre of Harlem and Arthur Mitchell have received over 300 official citations for excellence.

The exhibit is up through June 6 at the California African American Museum, 600 State Drive, Los Angeles. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. Parking is $8. For more information, call 213-744-7432 or visit http://www.caamuseum.org.

Today we all had the morning off so we were able to sleep in, and relax. DaVon and I enjoyed breakfast at the Hotel restaurant, and discovered that DTH was the cover story of the Fresno News Paper! We were so excited to see that our performance was getting so much publicity.

After sleeping some more, I headed over to theater, had a cup of coffee and prepared myseld for class

Today we Traveled to Fresno, CA! It was such a nice ride out of Los Angeles. Seeing the famous “Hollywood” sign was pretty nice! I slept THE ENTIRE ride.

once we got to our Hotel, I got settled into my room, and ordered Pizza Hut!

Our Hotel is conviently located across the street from the theatre we are performing in tomorrow!

Day 9 - “Jesus Take Wheel” rang loudly waking me up. Got some bad news this morning but I was determined to get through the day of performances with my head up and not complaining. As more bad news came in during our bus ride, I could not help but break down a little. Times like these are when having a host of friends who have your back comes in handy. I had a brief chat with my closest friends “The Pas de quat” (Danielle, Renee, and DaVon) and I pushed through class leaving the mess behind.  I guess it is a part of growing up and growing into a professional dancer.  I have had to say to myself many times during this tour, “I must give my best and inspire someone!” I think back to something I read that former DTH ballerina Alicia Graf said:

WOW!  Today was a pretty compact day. We woke up rather early to head to High School #9 for two Lecture Demonstrations. Well I actually only had to dance one Lec Demo but I was scheduled to conduct an assembly with ensemble dancers Alex Jacob and Lourdes Rodriguez,  at the A C Bilbrew Library.

As our taxi pulled up in front of the high school, I was baffled by how utterly gorgeous the architecture was, and how big it was for a high school. Walking through the “campus” I realized that it was a performing arts high school. 

Day 5   

This morning started with a very good breakfast at the Hotel and then into a 10:30am Lecture Demonstration.  Having traveled the night before, the body was feeling a bit weird. Nevertheless, because I love to give back and inspire children the way DTH inspired me, I gave my best in the Lec Demo. 

 Day 3

 So today, we woke up and had a lovely breakfast, and did some shopping – all before embarking on a 5-hour bus ride to Portland, Oregon!  There were so many reasons to laugh and appreciate the company of fellow dancers!   Once we pulled up to a very upscale Marriott, I realized how gorgeous the city of Portland was!  After settling in, we all went for a swim, and some of us guys went to the gym!

Christopher McDaniel, photo by Michelle James

Hello friends and fans of DTH. My name is Christopher McDaniel and I am a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble. We recently embarked on the second leg of our Dance For America Tour. The first stop is Bellingham, Washington. Then we are off to Oregon and California. Join me as I chronicle our adventures.

Day 1 – Uneventful long travel day. In the rain!

Day 2 – This stretch of touring is off to a wonderful start! My nerves were on a rollercoaster the entire day leading up to the performance of Robert Garland’s new pas de deux “Hallmark”. We had a very calm and productive spacing rehearsal wherein my partner Renee Bharath helped me to relax. It made me confident that the show would go well. And it did!

There was such a rush of positive and encouraging energy from the audience at the Mount Baker Theatre in Bellingham, Washington! As I shot out of the wing for the very first run, my nerves were gone, but I was able to put myself into the moment and into the ballet. Twas quite a surreal experience. I Left the theatre that night knowing I was a dancer for sure! Getting on that stage and being able to perform such amazing ballets, makes all the difficult travel hours and conditions so worth it! I am excited for what’s to come on the remainder of the DTH Ensemble’s tour!