Dallas Black Dance Theatre 46th Season Finale Features Afrofuturism

Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) marks the finale of its 46th season with its Spring Celebration performance series showcasing the works of national choreographers and home-grown talent. Spring Celebration provides a visual feast for the eyes with powerful and emotionally charged works. The Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District is the Presenting Sponsor for performances on Friday and Saturday, May 19-20, 2023, at 7:30 PM in the Wyly Theatre, 2400 Flora Street, Dallas, TX. 75201. Frost Bank is Supporting Sponsor.

Choreographer Chanel DaSilva's world premiere of T A B E R N A C L E features elaborate Afrofuturism costumes, a Pantheon-styled set design, and celebrates and magnifies the beauty, the complexities, and the many facets of Black people. DaSilva charts an artistic journey in a Wakanda-like land through layered emotions and concepts with the overall goal of paying homage to what it means to be Black in America. The Brooklyn, NY native developed the concept for T A B E R N A N C L E after the death of George Floyd in 2020. She considers herself an ARTivist using dance as a vehicle for social change and evolution toward a more diverse and inclusive dance industry and society. T A B E R N A C L E is the recipient of a grant from the TACA New Works Fund. Additional support comes from the CeCe Smith Lacey and John Ford Lacey Fund at Communities Foundation of Texas.

DBDT veteran dancer McKinley Willis choreographs her first mainstage world premiere for the company. Smile., a full-company ballet, is filled with whim and wonder, suspense, and unpredictability. Willis grew up in Dallas and has a long history with the company starting as a young student at Dallas Black Dance Academy, the official training academy of DBDT. She graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and received the Texas Commission on the Arts Young Masters Scholarship. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance Performance with a minor in Health and Exercise Science from the University of Oklahoma. DBDT founder Ann Williams hired McKinley straight out of college. The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation is supporting the works of female choreographers like Willis throughout the 46th Season.

Choreographer Kirven Douthit-Boyd takes us on a journey from anguish to bliss through the movements of his leading figures in Furtherance. This audience favorite is a ballet based on overcoming a personal struggle that ends with a celebration of triumph. Douthit-Boyd is the Associate Director of Dance Production & Artistic Director of COCAdance in St. Louis, MO. He performed nationally and internationally with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 11 years.

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