Eugene weekly., January 29, 2004, Page 22, Image 22

BY MARTHA ULLMAN WEST
Dancing Roots
Dance Theatre of Harlem in Eugene.
F
undamentalist Christians notwith-
standing, when God breathed life into
Adam’s clay, men and women
acquired the ability to dance. Dancing is the
most human of the lively arts, and the Dance
Theatre of Harlem is arguably the most human
of American ballet companies. Its 44 dancers
perform with a warmth and heart, not to men-
tion technical skill, that inevitably rocks what-
ever theater in which they are dancing.
From South Africa, where in 1990 it was
the first American company to perform for a
post-apartheid audience that included Nelson
Mandela, to Eugene’s Silva Concert Hall,
where the company performs at 8 pm on
Wednesday night, February 4. DTH brings to
the stage dancing that is as stylistically versa-
tile as it is theatrical.
The company was founded in 1969 by
Arthur Mitchell, the first African American to
become a principal dancer in a major ballet
company. Mitchell was a spectacularly fine
dancer who originated roles in such George
Balanchine masterworks as Agon and A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which he
developed the role of Puck. Because of
Mitchell’s background and training with
Balanchine, the Russian-American choreog-
rapher whose centennial is being celebrated
this year, DTH has neo-classical ballet tech-
nique as its platform.
Writing of the company’s first performanc-
es of Agon, the New Yorker critic Arlene Croce
said that “the possibilities of black classicism”
were crystallized in it, and the dancers were
“revitalized and released.” While Balanchine
works are on the company’s Seattle program,
where it heads next, the Eugene program
demonstrates the company’s neo-classical
roots in rather different style than the master’s.
Robert
Garland’s
“Return” is performed on
From South African Suites
pointe to the recorded
singing of James Brown
and Aretha Franklin.
“South African Suite” is a
joint choreographic ven-
ture created by Mitchell
and
DTH
dancer
Augustus Van Heerden
following the company’s
South African tour.
Performed to music by
the
Soweto
String
Quartet, the suite of
dances blends Anglo-
European classical art and
cultural iconography with
the same brilliance
accomplished in the com-
pany’s Creole Giselle,
staged by Frederick
Franklin in a Louisiana
bayou, and Firebird recast
in a tropical paradise.
The program closes,
as it often does, with
Dougla, a Caribbean
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22 JANUARY 29, 2004
wedding celebration involving the entire
company in a lavishly costumed signature
work, which makes a “joyful noise” with
dancing that is the breath of life itself.
In a perfect world, DTH would be recog-
nized not as a “multi-cultural” company
practicing art as a social program but rather
a 31-year old dance company that is one of
the best in this country if not the world. But
this is not a perfect world.
Mitchell is commendably committed to
changing people’s lives with the practice of art,
which he has certainly done, and educating the
public, which is certainly needed. His endeav-
ors have been recognized with many honorary
degrees, and in 1993 he was one of the youngest
recipients of the Kennedy Center Awards for
“an extraordinary lifetime of contributions to
American culture through the performing arts.”
The company is in town for only a short
time, but there are several
opportunities other than
Wednesday night’s perform-
ance to discover what this justi-
fiably world-famous company
is about. On Feb. 3 from 6:30
to 7:30 pm in Studio One at the
Hult Center, a principal dancer
will offer a master class in jazz
dance at the intermediate to
advanced levels. The class is
free with a performance ticket,
$10 without; reservations are
required. Please call Darrel
Kau at 682-2057.
Two free public events:
From 7 to 8 pm Feb. 3 at the
Eugene Public Library’s
Bascom-Tykeson Room, com-
pany staff and performers will
discuss the company’s history
and show video footage of the
repertoire.
And
before
Wednesday night’s perform-
ance, dancers will discuss the
evening’s choreography in a
pre-show session from 7 to
7:30 pm in Studio One. ew