The Dance Theater of Harlem is intimately linked to the career of Robert Garland. He joined the company in 1985 after graduating from Juilliard, finally becoming a main dancer in 1991. Later, he led the Dance Theater of the Harlem school and became the first resident choreographer of the company. In 2022, he was appointed artistic director of DTH, succeeded by the Ballet, Virginia Johnson in July 2023.
This year, DTH returns to New York city center April 10-13 with the first Garland Worlds Barbecue And Jodie Gates' Passage of being. Also on the bill are two first companies: William Forsythe The dizzying shiver of accuracy and George Balanochine Donizetti variations-as well as BackFavorite Ballet at Garland's crowd set to music by James Brown and Aretha Franklin.
Sharp spoke with Garland of his career, his experiences which so far led the DTH and the next season of the company's NYCC.
You have been a dancer, teacher, school director and choreographer. How did these experiences inform your role to direct the DTH?
When Arthur Mitchell made me the resident choreographer, it was the game to which I gravitate. But it was in the school where I learned the craft administration of crafts and how to deal with people from 3 to 23 years old. Now that I sit at the headquarters of the artistic director, all this experience informs him.
I have been here for so long that I haven't had many serious challenges. I felt that it was a kind of transparent transition. I was here when Virginia had been responsible for bringing back the professional business (which occurred in 2013, after taking into account 2004-2012), so my work continued in this vein. The joy I have now is mainly based on the fact that I like my dancers. They are not only incredible dancers but incredible human beings. And I learned that it is actually more important than to dance sometimes. I found a great joy and an understanding of my artists in this way.
How did DTH's inheritance inform your own vision of the company?
In 10 years in Philadelphia, I lived the Harlem dance theater in the same way as (today's children) do it now. At that time, (I saw) a ballet (Rhythm forces) by a man named Louis Johnson. Then there was this great classic work, The corsairWho was danced by a beautiful black ballerina, Yvonne Hall, and his partner, Ronald Perry. Then they also did something that was a bit funky and contemporary. What I got was that the Harlem dance theater met me where I was, then took me to another place.
For this season, we have something that talks about the African-American tradition: my ballet Barbecue. Then we have Donizetti variationS, which leaves the tradition of the Balanochine ballet. And then there is The dizzying shiver of accuracy By my new friend forever, Mr. Bill Forsythe. And you know, the greatest joy of this moment is that Jodie Gates, who choreographed Passage of being (and staged Dizzy on DTH), invited Francesca Harper (one of the originals Dizzy The distribution members, who is now director of Ailey Second Company) to come and train our dancers.
Can you talk more about your new work, THE Target?
Barbecue was inspired by Arthur Mitchell. He has always referred to the dignity of his people, which means African-American culture in general and, locally, Harlem. He was a child from the very end of Harlem's rebirth. There were three dignities on which I meditated: the dignity of work, culture and sorrow, which culminates in joy as a whole – and black joy, in particular.
For the dignity of work, I use a piece of music from whom I call my “daughter at the house of Philadelphia”, called Jill Scott A long walk. As a child in the 70s, I had the first achievement that there was something called a diaspora. There was a song (“bra”) that I knew by a British group of rhythm and blues called Cymande. About a year ago, I remembered that while I was in a panel at the Royal Ballet in England. The “bra” is the dignity of culture. Then, I use a song from another English woman out of our diaspora, Caron Wheeler, called “Somewhere”, it is the dignity of pain. For the last movement, we meet at a Brooklyn barbecue with the Brass Construction group, which is Brooklyn, and it's #joy.
Why did you think it's a good time to present more Forsythe and Balanchine parts?
The dizzying shiver of accuracy is, first of all, a piece of classical music. Often, Mr. Forsythe uses contemporary composers and Schubert music for Dizzy called me. And I felt the African -American dynamic – the last movement has an attack that corresponds to the aesthetics of the DTH. It is also, technically speaking, diabolically hard, so he also develops my dancers.
The only board on which Mr. Balanochine was sitting was Harlem's dance theater. When (Arthur Mitchell) launched the company in 1969, the board of directors was (Brock Peters), Cicely Tyson, George Balanochine and Lincoln Kirstein. They appear on our incorporation documents. I choreographed for the New York City Ballet in 2000 and worked with Kyra Nichols, who was dancing at the time. She is now a professor at Indiana University Bloomington, and I have four dancers in this program (in the company). So I called Kyra, and she settled Donizetti variations.
If you could have a conversation with Arthur Mitchell today, what would you think he would say about the state of blacks in ballet now compared to his time?
We have been supported by people who have been 100% in our corner for years, but the level of support we receive in relation to white predominance ballet institutions – we are under -resistant. So I think this part would disturb him the most. We have succeeded over the years to maintain high artistic standards, so in the future, we are looking for major support to continue the work of strengthening not only a community but also people. We are linked to a community and this community is Harlem.
And ballet training is not cheap. It would always be unhappy because there are children who probably want to study the ballet but cannot because they do not have the resources. And when I say “resources”, it's time and money from parents and families, and money on the study itself.
