Repertoire

Photo by Sharen Bradford – The Dancing Image

…And Now Marvin

(1994)

Choreographer: Darryl B. Sneed

This work pays tribute to the legendary artist Marvin Gaye.  He was an extraordinary singer, composer and arranger.  Through his music he expressed despondency over key issues of his generation: politics, the war in Vietnam, the ecology and human conditions.

Photo by Sharen Bradford – The Dancing Image

Above & Below

(2016)

Choreographer: Nycole Ray

Bruce… Thank You. 

A subtle, yet powerful work that pays tribute to the life of a wonderful man, choreographer, mentor and friend. 

A Precious Stone

(2018)

Choreographers: Claude Alexander III and Sean J. Smith

This work was created as a dedication and celebration for longtime DBDT supporter, Mr. Donald J. Stone.

Photo by Sharen Bradford – The Dancing Image

A Rag, A Bone, and a Hank of Hair

(1991)

Choreographer: Talley Beatty

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

A Tender Pardon

(World Premiere May 2019)

Choreographer: Claude Alexander III

Forgiveness is the understanding of unconditional love. Seeking healing includes accepting your experiences and forgiving along the way. To say I love you is to also say, I forgive you.

To those that have hurt me, I love you.

To those that I have hurt, forgive me.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Absolute Rule

(DBDT Premiere 1994)

Choreographer: Elsa Monte & David Brown

Absolute Rule examines the sexual power and intensity of male and female relationships. Each dancer manipulates the other to create sensuous human sculptures. Absolute Rule was made possible by a grant from IBM.

Awassa Astrige/Ostrich

(1932)

Choreographer: Asadata Dafora

The ostrich is not the comic bird, burying its head in the sand, as typically portrayed in cartoons, but it is a large, stately and potentially lethal bird should you suffer a blow from one of its powerful legs. The ostrich commands our respect, and in this portrayal, a warrior imitates the graceful but powerful movements of the King of the birds.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Beams from Heaven

(2010)

Choreographer: Christopher L. Huggins

An uplifting suite of dances set to traditional & contemporary gospel music.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest

(2016–DBDT Premiere 2018)

Choreographer: Tommie-Waheed Evans

The importance of the Civil Rights Movement was that it gave the hope for equality to all Americans, no matter their race, creed, or gender. Speeches from this era not only served as a vehicle for social change, but also for self-assertiveness. This work explored the idea of bodies uniting in protest through faith. Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech “We Shall Overcome” becomes the embodiment of faith and protest; my research situates itself within the meta-textual location of moving bodies alongside and within his speech.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Bounce

(DBDT Premiere 2017)

Choreographer: Stephen Mills

A dynamically textured contemporary ballet set to an intricate and robust score by Graham Reynolds.

Photo by Richard W. Rodriguez

Essence

(DBDT Premiere 2005)

Choreographer: Christopher L. Huggins

“This piece is dedicated to the women in my life, like Ann Williams, who have inspired me with their strength, passion, humor, commitment, and unconditional love.” –Christopher L. Huggins

Photo by Sharen Bradford – The Dancing Image

Execution of a Sentiment

(World Premiere May 2019)

Choreographer: Darrell Grand Moultrie

Execution through excellence, focus, dedication, and the transformative power of Dance.

Photo by Anne Marie Bloodgood

Face what's facing you!

(2018)

Choreographer: Claude Alexander III

What are your issues? What do they effect? Where does it hurt? How do you get through them?

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Furtherance

(2016)

Choreographer: Kirven Douthit-Boyd

Furtherance is a ballet based on overcoming a personal struggle that ends with a celebration of triumph. The leading figures take us on a journey from anguish to bliss.

Photo by Sharen Bradford – The Dancing Image

How to Kill a Ghost

(2014–DBDT Premiere 2017)

Choreographer: Juel D. Lane

How to Kill a Ghost explores the haunting effects of holding onto something that no longer exists.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

From Within

(World Premiere October 2019)

Choreographer: Nijawwon Matthews

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

ON.Toward.Press.

(World Premiere February 2020)

Choreographer: Hope Boykin

I AM LARGE

(World Premiere May 2020)

Choreographer: Joshua L. Peugh

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

Reflections in D

(1962—DBDT Premiere 1987)

Choreographer: Alvin Ailey

This strong yet serene solo is a stunning, masterful expression of Duke Ellington’s music.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

ODETTA

(2014—DBDT Premiere 2019)

Choreographer: Matthew Rushing

Odetta Holmes – one of the most influential singers of the 20th century – is rediscovered as renowned Ailey dancer Matthew Rushing marries soul-stirring movement to songs by the artist anointed “the queen of American folk music” by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rushing’s world premiere for Ailey pays tribute to Holmes’s life as a singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. With a musical repertoire encompassing American folk music, blues, jazz, and spirituals, Odetta influenced many key figures of the 1960s folk-revival scene including Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Mavis Staples, and Janis Joplin. Her song “Take This Hammer” was included on TIME magazine’s list of the All-Time 100 Songs. When President Clinton honored Odetta at the White House with the National Medal of Arts and Humanities, he remarked, “Odetta reminds us all that songs have the power to change the heart and change the world.”

Photo by Anne Marie Bloodgood

Undeviated Passage

(2018)

Choreographer: Ray Mercer

Where art imitates life.

Photo by Anne Marie Bloodgood

Vespers

(1986, DBDT Premiere 2011)

Choreographer: Ulysses Dove

Vespers captures the passion and spirituality of women who have a faith and belief in God that sustains and supports them all their lives. The work is a recreation of the spirit Ulysses Dove gained from watching these women in church and is dedicated to his grandmother.

Photo by Amitava Sarkar

What to Say? Notes on Echo and Narcissus

(DBDT Premiere 2015)

Choreographer: Jamal Story

Legend tells us that Echo’s love is unrequited, that self-consumed Narcissus chooses instead his reflection as a source of ardor so great he starves to death staring at it. This riveting aerial duet addresses the nuances that might have existed the possibilities that the complexities of male/female relationships may have changed very little since this ancient nymph/hunter bond.

 

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