Experience the poetry-in-motion of the legendary Dance Theatre of Harlem, as they headline NJPAC's Martin Luther King celebration today, January 17th in Prudential Hall. The renowned ballet company was co-founded in 1969 by Arthur Mitchell and the late Karel Shook as a positive and uplifting way to turn despair into hope following the assassination of Dr. King. Mitchell was the first African-American principal dancer at the New York City Ballet, and Karel Shook, had been the first teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet. Mitchell began by founding a dance school and later a company that would bring new opportunity to the lives of young people in the Harlem neighborhood in which he grew up.
Tickets are $27-$79 and are available online at NJPAC.org by phone at 1-888-GO-NJPAC (1-888-466-5722), or in person at NJPAC Box Office, One Center Street in downtown Newark.
The 44 year-old
Dance Company will be performing works including Gloria (choreography by
Robert Garland, music by
Francis Poulenc): This tribute to Harlem's spiritual heritage was called "affectingly beautiful" by The New Yorker. Agon (choreography by
George Balanchine, music by
Igor Stravinsky): one of the defining ballets of neo-classicism and past-carry-forward (choreography by Tanya Wideman David and Thaddeus Davis, music by Willie "The Lion" Smith and Slippage): a ballet that honors the persistence of the Harlem Renaissance.
Rounding out NJPAC's celebration of D
R. Martin Luther King's on Saturday January 18, 2014 from 10 AM to 12 noon, the NJPAC Center for Arts Education (24 Rector Street, Newark) will feature a free community event for children and their families. "Embodying the Dream: A Celebration of the Life and Message of D
R. Martin Luther King, Jr." will consist of a series of performing arts workshops that support and demonstrate the essence of Dr. King's "Dream" through interactive arts experiences. Activities are for all ages and will include a "Civil Rights Sing-In"; a master class with Dance Theatre of Harlem; "Dancing the Dream," a liturgical dance workshop; and "Let the Message Move You," a drumming workshop; and interactive storytelling.
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