Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Now under the Robert Garland, DANCE THEATER OF HARLEM seems set for continued greatness

• By drediman
• April 12, 2024
• No Comments

Now under the artistic directorship of Robert Garland, Dance Theatre of Harlem looks to be destined for continued for greatness, as evidenced by the opening of their spring season this past Thursday at New York City Center. The program was an eclectic one, showcasing the company’s comfort with both classical ballet and more contemporary styles.

In this light, I could not think of a more appropriate way to launch into the evening than with Garland’s alternately shimmying and elongated Nyman String Quartet No. 2, a work that ideally captures the Dance Theatre of Harlem’s aesthetic. Since its premiere in 2019, the DTH dancers seem more at ease with the piece, adding stylish new accents and flair to Nyman’s relentlessly bright score. Then came Robert Bondara’s new pas de deux Take Me With You featuring the fabulous pairing of Amanda Smith and Elias Re. Set to Radiohead’s atmospheric “Reckoner”, the pas is a mysterious, existential piece that takes its cue from the track’s moody rhythms. Then the company showed off its classical training with George Balanchine’s Pas de Dix, a new edition to DTH’s repertoire (last year’s Balanchine addition was the classic ballet Allegro Brilliante). While the opening night cast seemed to think through the fiendishly difficult steps (the ballet is an homage to the evening length story ballet Raymonda, featuring music by Glazunov), they exhibited admirable discipline, as well as occasional bursts of inspired musicality. The evening concluded with what is becoming one of the company’s signature dances — William Forsythe’s Blake Works 4. Originally choreographed during the dark days of the pandemic for streaming audiences, the work has emerged as a dazzling crowd-pleasing set piece for live audiences. The dancers owned the piece (even playing with the composition’s gender structure), dancing with technical precision and abundant personality.

The dancing throughout was excellent — alive with gorgeous line and rock solid technique — if a tad on the safe and tentative side. One of my only gripes of the evening was the use of recorded music instead of live accompaniment, which particularly detracted from the Balanchine piece. Indeed, there’s no underestimating the value of the spontaneous interplay between dancing and live music-making. All in all, however, DTH is setting themselves up nicely, particularly with Garland now at the helm.

RECOMMENDED

DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM
Dance
New York City Center
Approximately 2 hours (with two intermission)
Through April 14