Lunchtime Tuesday on Bestor Plaza turned even more festive than a typical sunny summer day at Chautauqua, as dancers from Dance Theatre of Harlem held a special outdoor program following their triumphant season finale Monday, June 27, in the Amphitheater.
Drawing on DTH resident choreographer Robert Garland’s “Return,” a mashup of ballet and classic social dancing that the company had performed onstage the previous evening, dancers welcomed Chautauquans of all ages and skill levels to participate in an old-style Soul Train line. DTH dancers spent the first part of the program publicly teaching participants and audience members the vocabulary and sequence of a section of James Brown’s “Superbad.” Once the ephemeral ensemble of participants was suitably warmed up, they followed the professionals’ lead in a debut, one-time performance, to whoops and cheers from the gathered crowd.
Dance Theatre of Harlem’s public events during Week One marked the conclusion of a two-week residency at Chautauqua. The residency is part of a long-term initiative of the Institution to engage artistic partners to make use of the retreat-like atmosphere of the grounds to inspire creativity and of rehearsal spaces during times of the year in which they would normally lie fallow.
Lindesy Donnell, left, and Derek Brockington, right, Members of the Dance Theatre of Harlem dance with community members of Chautauqua in a “Dancing In The Streets” event on June 28, 2022 at Bestor Plaza. The night prior the Dance Theatre of Harlem preformed in the Amphitheater. GEORGIA PRESSLEY/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
