Dance Theatre of Harlem will present online premiere of Nacho Duato’s Coming Together this week (photo courtesy DTH)
Who: Dance Theatre of Harlem
What: Livestreamed performances and discussions
Where: Dance Theatre of Harlem YouTube channel
When: July 16-18, free
Why: Dance Theatre of Harlem is continuing its fiftieth anniversary, dubbed “50 Forward,” with virtual presentations this summer. DTH on Demand launched last month with Arthur Mitchell and Frederic Franklin’s adaptation of Creole Giselle, Grand Moultrie’s Vessels, Robert Garland’s Return, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Balamouk. The next iteration is under way, featuring an extended look at last year’s Works & Process performance at the Guggenheim and exciting programs built around Nacho Duato’s Coming Together. Last week the troupe livestreamed “Inside Works & Process: The Four Temperaments,” a panel discussion with George Balanchine Trust répétiteur Deborah Wingert, New York City Ballet solo pianist Susan Walters, and DTH company artist Daphne Lee; “Tones II — A Reflection on Arthur Mitchell,” a talk with company artists Derek Brockington, Choong Hoon Lee, Amanda Smith and former DTH ballerina and board member China White, former ballerinas Gayle McKinney and Brenda Garrett-Glassman, and former principal dancer Donald Williams; and the online premiere of the full-length Guggenheim Rotunda performance from September 30, 2019, consisting of Nyman String Quartet No.2 (choreographed by Robert Garland, with music by Michael Nyman), the first three of The Four Temperaments (choreographed by George Balanchine, with music by Paul Hindemith), and Tones II (choreographed by Mitchell, with a score by Tania León).
This week DTH delves into Duato’s powerful piece, which was commissioned in 1991 for Compania Nacional de Danza in Madrid and was inspired by a letter Attica prisoner Sam Melville wrote on May 16, 1971. The letter reads today as if it were composed during the coronavirus pandemic: “I think the combination of age and a greater coming together is responsible for the speed of the passing time. It’s six months now and I can tell you truthfully few periods in my life have passed so quickly. I am in excellent physical and emotional health. There are doubtless subtle surprises ahead, but I feel secure and ready. As lovers will contrast their emotions in times of crisis, so am I dealing with my environment. In the indifferent brutality, incessant noise, the experimental chemistry of food, the ravings of lost hysterical men, I can act with clarity and meaning. I am deliberate — sometimes even calculating — seldom employing histrionics except as a test of the reactions of others. I read much, exercise, talk to guards and inmates, feeling for the inevitable direction of my life.” Melville was shot and killed during the Attica uprising four months later. On July 16 at 8:00, company artist Crystal Serrano and professor and former dancer Eva Lopez Crevillen will take viewers “Inside Coming Together: Staging the Ballet”; on July 17 at 8:00, “The Greater Coming Together” explores the minimalist score by Frederic Rzewski; and on July 18 at 8:00, the full work will have its virtual premiere, hosted by company artist Lindsey Donnell and including a live interactive chat on YouTube with company artist Dylan Santos. DTH has also been holding live open classes and artist talks regularly on its Instagram and Facebook pages.