The Royal Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Black British Ballet project by Oxygen Arts will present Black Dancers in Ballet—Sharing a Rich Trans-Atlantic History at the New York Public Library of Performing Arts on 25 April, featuring a live panel discussion and rehearsals from both The Royal Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem. This event will be live-streamed on YouTube and Facebook.
The event will explore the relationship between Dance Theatre of Harlem and The Royal Ballet and the history of black dancers in ballet in both the UK and the USA and the legacy of the relationship between the two companies.
It will also feature rehearsals with Royal Ballet dancers Joseph Sissens and Marianna Tsembenhoi alongside Kouadio Davis and Kamala Saara from Dance Theatre of Harlem. They will perform a range of solos and a pas de deux from Giselle and Balanchine’s Agon coached by Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem Robert Garland, Director of The Royal Ballet Kevin O’Hare and The Royal Ballet Rehearsal Director Christopher Saunders.
The panel discussion will be chaired by Brenda Emmanus OBE and features Robert Garland, Kevin O’Hare, former Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers Julie Felix MBE and Brenda Garratt-Glassman and Dr Sandie Bourne from Black British Ballet.