Dance Theatre of Harlem Struggles to Get Back on Toes
FORT WORTH – “Look at me! Look at me!” Arthur Mitchell cries. Forty-four heads turn. The angle is perfect, chins raised just so, all eyes peering directly at Mr. Mitchell.
Arthur Mitchell, co-founder and artistic director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, teaches a master dance class to dancers at the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU.
He has them mesmerized.
The co-founder and director of Dance Theatre of Harlem was in town recently to teach master classes at Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts.
His presence is electrifying. What might have been an ordinary ballet class segues into theater as he coaxes students away from concentrating on technique to focus on drama. “Make a mystery, a novel of intrigue,” he tells dancers as they extend their legs in developpé.
Mr. Mitchell is undeniably a great teacher, but he also is at SMU to launch a new partnership between the Meadows School and his Harlem endeavors.
Two years ago his beloved company folded, swamped in debt and leaving 44 dancers to scatter across the globe. The company’s plight captured the attentions of SMU students in the Meadows division of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs. They had just finished a project with Southwest Airlines. They wondered: Why can’t we help the Dance Theatre of Harlem?
The project will get under way in January and run through August, with the last three months spent in New York City.
Faculty oversee the project, but 10 students are the staff of the Mustangconsulting group, which will develop communication strategies and campaigns to help the Dance Theatre of Harlem reach a wider audience.
“We want to communicate the uniqueness of Dance Theatre of Harlem,” explains assistant professor Maria Dixon. “We want to reach the iPod generation, to draw them into a love affair with the arts.
“The project should have implications not just for DTH , but for all arts originations.”
Almost from its inception in 1970, the Dance Theatre of Harlem has had a reputation for energy and charm, with a repertory ranging from Balanchine’s Serenade, Agon and Square Dance, José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane, John Taras’ Firebird, Geoffrey Holder’s Trinidad inspired Dougla, and Michael Smuin’s St. Louis Woman: A Blues Ballet. “We are a classical company,” Mr. Mitchell emphasizes, “but our works are eclectic. Our eclecticism is a strength, not a weakness.”
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Photo credit:
Milton Hinnant / DMN
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