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January 26, 2009

Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble Feb. 4; part of Black History Month

Nationally-renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble will perform at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, thanks to a unique partnership between ULM School of Visual and Performing Arts and Twin City Ballet Company. The group will perform Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium. A very limited number of tickets are available for the event, which is part of Black History Month.

To celebrate Dance Theatre of Harlem’s 40th Anniversary in 2009, a 7-week, national tour of the new Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble, a 16-member group of young artists (aged 18 - 25), began in January 2009. The dancers come from the United States and abroad including Trinidad, Columbia, Brazil, Japan and Argentina. The tour features a new Dance Theatre of Harlem production, called the Interactive Performance and is paired with Lecture-Demonstrations and Master Classes making for a unique artistic educational package. The goal of the Dance for America tour is to widen audience awareness of the relevance of the classical arts and to engage them in theatrical dance.

The Interactive Performance includes both a behind the scenes look at the making of artists and favorite repertoire like Joplin Dances with music by Scott Joplin and Return to the music of James Brown and Aretha Franklin both choreographed by Robert Garland, together with works by Arthur Mitchell, Keith Saunders and a new work entitled Episode by Peter Pucci. The tour targets audiences that would otherwise be excluded because of economic and geographic circumstances and is designed to be especially appealing to young adults.

The Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble has received enthusiastic praise for their youthful and vibrant performances. “The premiere held the audience in thrall. The response we received was so welcome and amazing. The immediate and enthusiastic response to tonight's performance hasn't been seen at this level in recent years." Diane Cherryholmes, Executive Director of the Huntington Arts Council. Mary Pentecost, Huntington Arts Council said “Wonderful, Audience loved it!

Dance Theatre of Harlem Ensemble is sponsored by:

• The University of Louisiana Monroe's School of Visual and Performing Arts
  
  
• The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council
  
  
• Progressive Bank
  
  
• The Miller Company
  
  
• And a School performance grant by the Carmel Hill Fund

Please call VAPA ticket office at 342-1414 for more information.

Click here for additional information about the Dance Theater of Harlem Ensemble.

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