BWW Reviews: DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM Comes Home to City Center

Opening night of Dance Theater of Harlem's 2015 season at City Center began with a curtain speech by Artistic Director Virginia Johnson, who was visibly more excited and confident on this third anniversary of the rebirth of the legendary company than she had been in 2014 when DTH danced at Jazz at Lincoln Center after a nine-year performing hiatus. Her contagious enthusiasm proved to be well founded as the evening progressed with a quadruple bill called "What's New" that showcased the vastly improved technique and artistry of the 18-member troupe.

After Johnson's welcome, during which she offered a heartfelt mention of the fact that DTH was at last back in the venue it had originally called home, the audience was treated to a touching tribute honoring the late Geoffrey Holder, the multi-talented Trinidadian-American actor who passed away in October 2014. Students from the Dance Theatre of Harlem School danced down the aisles onto the stage where drummers accompanied them in a stunning excerpt from Holder's "Dougla", the iconic piece for DTH that he choreographed in 1974.

Next, DTH's Resident Choreographer Robert Garland introduced Holder's wife, the enduringly vibrant Carmen de Lavallade. Fresh from her "I Remember It" production at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in February 2015, she recalled Holder's life and work with great tenderness and humor to the cheers and applause of the dancegoers.

The program began with Ulysses Dove's "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven". Subtitled "Odes to Love and Loss", the ballet is set to an evocative score by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt, known for both classical and sacred music, who used church bells in this work described on the program as "Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten, 1977". Three men and three women in luminous white unitards designed by Jorge Gallardo executed the demanding choreography with remarkable grace while perfectly expressing the sense that each moment of life is precious and could be the last. Dove created the work after a period when he lost 13 loved ones including his father.

After a brief pause, the mood brightened considerably with a mostly spot-on and suitably exuberant rendition of a Balanchine favorite, "Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux". Samuel Wilson, who is not the strongest of male dancers when he's on his own, faltered a bit in landing his double tours. Even so, he was an attentive and adept partner for Ashley Murphy, a firecracker of a technician with mega stage presence who pulled off the rapid fire sequence of passés and the breathtaking manèges with insouciante aplomb. Together, the pair accomplished the daredevil "dive" lifts toward the end as well as any couple I've ever seen do them.

The highlight of the program was the DTH premiere of Nacho Duato's 1991 "Coming Together", a profoundly moving work to the pulsing sounds of contemporary American composer Frederic Rzewski, known for his political activism. This teamed perfectly with Duato's use of spoken word taken from a wrenchingly eloquent letter written by activist Sam Melville in Attica Prison not long before he was killed there in the riots of 1971. I predict that this ballet, in which the young yet mature DTH dancers were seen at their very best, will become a staple in the repertory for years to come.

The closer, while not as powerful as "Coming Together", was a treat in its own right. With choreography by Darrell Grand Moultrie and music by Ezio Bosso, the New York premiere of "Vessels" -- which had its world premiere in October of 2014 -- gave the company a chance to display its comfort with contemporary ballet rooted in classicism. Three couples in rose-hued costumes by George Hudacko glided seamlessly through increasingly challenging lifts and patterns with admirable serenity that fulfilled the program note's promise: "Let us all be infused with something beautiful that can be transferred to others."

"What's New" will be performed again on April 11th at 2 p.m. and the other program for this season, "Classic DTH" with works by Robert Garland and Christopher Higgins among others will be performed on April 10th at 8:00 p.m. and April 11th at 8:00 p.m. Don't let this brief run slip by without seizing the opportunity to see the new generation of DTH dancers as they continue to come into their own.

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