Dance Theatre of Harlem
Encyclopedia
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
company
Dance company
A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a spectacle or entertainment.-Members:*Artistic Director*Choreographers*Dancers*Board of Directors*Education administrator...
and school of the allied arts founded in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, USA in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell
Arthur Mitchell (dancer)
Arthur Mitchell is an African-American dancer and choreographer who created a training school and the first African-American classical ballet company, Dance Theatre of Harlem...
and Karel Shook. Its Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble continues to do outreach throughout the US.
Karel Shook was the first teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet
Dutch National Ballet
Dutch National Ballet was formed in 1961 when the Amsterdams Ballet and the Nederlands Ballet merged. The company has been directed by Sonia Gaskell , Rudi van Dantzig , Wayne Eagling and is currently directed by Ted Brandsen. It is the largest dance company in the Netherlands and attracts many...
, from where he returned to the United States as co-director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Milton Rosenstock
Milton Rosenstock
Milton Rosenstock was an American conductor, composer, and arranger. Trained at the Juilliard School, he was highly active as a musical director for Broadway musicals from 1942 through 1980; serving in that capacity for 29 productions, including the original productions of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes ,...
served as the company's music director from 1981-1992.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem School offers training to more than 1,000 young people annually with a community program open to any child who wants to study dance. Its program is called Dancing Through Barriers. It accepts pre-school children up to senior citizens.
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
, and musicology
Musicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem now has a Pre-Professional Residecy program at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
for dancers ages 8 to 18. If accepted, the students meet every Saturday, October through April and work with DTH resident choreographer, Robert Garland. The program includes four levels from beginner to advanced for both ladies and gentleman of the DC metro area. In April, the program culminates with a performance on the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall stage as a part of the Millenum Stage series.