When one thinks of a “Resident Choreographer,” one might imagine a person who listens to stacks of innovative music, has dancers to work with at his finger tips, and is in the studio eight hours a day working out the steps to creating such beautiful work.
Maybe in an ideal world that is what a resident choreographer can do but our “Resident Choreographer,” Robert Garland doesn’t live in this ideal world. He creates choreographic masterpieces in his own private and seemingly effortless way, while still doing all of the things that he does daily – teaching, communicating with dancers, and handling work in marketing where he is the unsung master of graphics on our website manipulating photos and videos to enhance DTH.
In Studio 4, suspended from a cable attached to the ceiling, dancer/aerialist, Stacy Carlson, presented an amazing mid-air routine showing off her extreme flexibility, fearlessness and strength as a special birthday surprise for Mr. Mitchell. He and the audience were delighted. Photo Credit: Joseph Rodman.
Arthur Mitchell and the audience at the Honoring the Elders Open House received a magnificent (and rare!) surprise to conclude the afternoon: an alumni performance of the popular Dance Theatre of Harlem signature piece “Dougla” by Geoffrey Holder, performed to live music by alumni musicians Donald Eaton, Neville Byrd, Rudy Byrd, Jimmy Cruz, Raymond Graham, Jon Pannikar, Walter Rand and DTH Development Officer JoAnn Wong
Cast and marvelously rehearsed by alumni Dean Anderson, Dougla dancers included students from the Professional training program. Dressed in the original costumes which were organized and prepared by alumnae Pamela Allen Cummings Lynn Shipley and Judy Tyrus, the dancers had just the right intensity for the occasion and brought the audience to their feet in thunderous applause. What a fitting tribute for celebrating DTH’s 40th birthday, which is officially on February 11th.