onStage presents the Dance Theatre of Harlem

Dance Theater of Harlem, Alison Stroming in Valse Fantaisie (Photo by Rachel Neville)
Dance Theater of Harlem, Alison Stroming in Valse Fantaisie (Photo by Rachel Neville)

Connecticut College’s onStage Guest Artist Series will present a performance by the Dance Theater of Harlem at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 29, in Palmer Auditorium. This performance will include Valse Fantasie, choreography by George Balanchine; This Bitter Earth, choreography by Christopher Wheeldon; Change, choreography by Dianne McIntyre; and Harlem On My Mind, choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie. 

Embarking on their 50th anniversary tour, the Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded by Arthur Mitchell, an acclaimed principal dancer with George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet. Inspired to bring new opportunity to the lives of young people in the Harlem neighborhood in which he grew up, Mitchell and the late Karel Shook founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem in the basement of a church in 1969. Mitchell understood the power of training in classical art form to bring discipline to a challenged community.

Now under the leadership of a second generation of artists inspired by Mitchell’s vision in Artistic Director Virginia Johnson, founding member/former prima ballerina, and Executive Director Anna Glass, the goal is to build community, inspire and uplift through the power of art. The Dance Theatre of Harlem features treasured classics and innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture.

Since 1969, the Dance Theatre of Harlem has performed in 46 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S Virgin Islands, in over 280 cities in North America and on six continents in 44 countries.

Tickets are $28 general admission, $25 for seniors, $14 for students, and available online or by calling the box office at 860-439-ARTS.


September 10, 2018