DTH at The Guggenheim
In 1971 Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) made its official New York debut in the Guggenheim’s rotunda. As part of the re-opening of the Peter B. Lewis Theater after its closure due to the pandemic, DTH will return to Works & Process this fall with highlights from Resident Choreographer Robert Garland’s Higher Ground, set to a selection of songs by Stevie Wonder. Initially intended to premiere just days ahead of the shutdown in March 2020, Higher Ground will now premiere in Detroit and later come to New York in spring 2022 at City Center Dance Festival. As part of this special preview at the Guggenheim, Imani Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, will moderate a conversation with Garland. Company dancers will perform highlights, and join the discussion to share how their own understanding of Higher Ground and Stevie Wonder’s music has transformed over the past 18 months.
“In Higher Ground Mr. Garland has created something rare in classical dance: a ballet with a message. Seen during a rehearsal just days before the citywide shutdown, it is a marvel of a work that shows off Mr. Garland’s many choreographic gifts, from his sparkling musicality to his ability to seamlessly weave classical ballet with influences from modern and social dance.” – The New York Times