UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For half a century, Dance Theatre of Harlem has provided access to ballet for all. The New York City company will make its first appearance at Penn State since 1995 when it performs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 12, in Eisenhower Auditorium.
The program is scheduled to include “Valse Fantaisie” (1953), choreographed by George Balanchine and danced to music by Mikhail Glinka; “This Bitter Earth” (2012), a pas de deux by Christopher Wheeldon, performed to a song composed by Max Richter and Clyde Otis and sung by Dinah Washington; “Passage” (2019), a ballet inspired by the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first African slaves in Virginia, choreographed by Claudia Schreier, and set to music by Catalyst Quartet violinist and composer Jessie Montgomery; and “Return” (1999), the signature work of the company’s longtime resident choreographer Robert Garland, which is performed to a suite of songs sung by James Brown and Aretha Franklin.
Visit the Center for the Performing Arts online or call 814-863-0255 for more information. Five dollars of each ticket sold will support Penn State THON.
Comprised of an international touring company, a training school and a celebrated arts education and community engagement program, Dance Theatre of Harlem demonstrates the power of art to transform lives.
Compelled to make a positive impact following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., the legendary dancer Arthur Mitchell started a school with his teacher, Karel Shook. Mitchell’s idea was to offer children in the Harlem neighborhood, in which he grew up, the opportunity to change their futures by challenging themselves against the rigors of a classical art form. In 1971, only two years after its founding, The New York Times called Dance Theatre of Harlem “one of ballet’s most exciting undertakings.”