Dallas Black Dance Theatre
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Dallas Black Dance Theatre marks the Finale of its 45th Season with its Spring Celebration performance showcasing a soaring aerial, tango rhythms from around the world, and a Kameron N. Saunders world premiere full of dazzling vibrancy set to an original musical score.
Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District is the presenting sponsor for the Spring Celebration performance at 7:30 pm on May 20-21, 2022, in the Wyly Theatre, 2400 Flora Street, Dallas, TX. Frost Bank is the supporting sponsor. The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation supports female choreographers’ careers for DBDT’s 45th anniversary season. AARP Texas is the virtual sponsor for the series.
Kameron N. Saunders created a physically demanding and captivating world premiere for the company. Black in Time is an amalgamation of ideas centered around black experience, history, and hope. Inspired by the idea of afro-futurism, Saunders posed the question: “What does the future of black people look like?” Saunders worked with composer Brandon Finklea to create an original and dynamic score that feels futuristic and contemporary yet nostalgic and ancestral. Kameron N. Saunders is a co-founder of The K/P Project in St. Louis, MO.
Audiences can never get enough of the spellbinding aerial duet What to Say? Notes on Echo and Narcissus. Co-Chair of the National Dance Committee for SAG-AFTRA, Southern Methodist University graduate and former DBDT dancer Jamal Story brings to life the heartbreak of the Greek tragedy on unrequited love by weaving mesmerizing, passionate movements throughout the work. Jamal is the dance and aerial supervisor for the Cher's Here We Go Again Tour.
Journey to the One, A Tango, the solo is one of five suites within the work. International choreographer Nejla Yatkin created the work in 2003, inspired by tango rhythms from different parts of the world, such as Argentina, Turkey, and Mexico. The soloist envelops the stage with a voluminous deep red skirt with a 10-foot train as she mourns the loss of her beloved. As the skirt carves the air filled with past memories, it seems to tell its own story as it dances like a sculpture in motion, while the soloist thoughtfully navigates her emotional journey. Critics described the solo as “luminous images, framed in dramatic clarity and passion.” DBDT premiered the work in 2006.
The high energy and technically challenging Execution of a Sentiment, showcasing the athleticism of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, is choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie.
Face what’s facing you! is a brilliant work that brings many thoughts to the surface. What are your issues? What do they affect? Where does it hurt? How do you get through them? Veteran DBDT dancer Claude Alexander III choreographed this dance that takes an honest, soul-stirring look at facing life’s challenges. Could this be art imitating life or life imitating art?
PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
Spring Celebration
May 20-21, 2022, 7:30 pm
Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre
2400 Flora Street, Dallas, TX.
In-person + Streaming + On-demand
In-person tickets are $45-$65.
Live streaming tickets are $25 per household. Watch the live stream broadcast at 7:30 pm CDT on Saturday, May 21, 2022, CDT or watch it on-demand starting at 10 pm CDT Saturday through Monday, May 23, 2022, at 11:59 pm CDT.
For more performance details, visit www.DBDT.com.
NO SUBSCRIPTIONS OR GROUP DISCOUNTS FOR THE 45TH SEASON
Dallas Black Dance Theatre is limiting seating capacity to allow for social distancing. Because of limited ticket availability, DBDT will not be able to give discounts on groups or subscriptions this year.
2021-2022 | Legacy Sponsor
Simmons Sisters Fund at Texas Women’s Foundation
2021-2022 | Catalyst Sponsors
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Texas Instruments, The International Association of Blacks in Dance, The Eugene McDermott Foundation, U.S. Small Business Administration, National Endowment for the Arts, Anonymous, and the Hillcrest Foundation.
2021 - 2022 | DBDT Season Sponsors
The City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, NBC 5, Texas Metro News, The Dallas Morning News, Texas Metro News, American Airlines, Oversee My IT, Shubert Foundation, Inc., DART, TACA, and The Dallas Weekly.
2021 - 2022 | DBDT Season Supporters
Texas Commission on the Arts, Lexus, FYI-50+, The Dallas Examiner, The Dallas Post Tribune, Elite News, Trendy Africa, and Arts+Culture.
ABOUT DALLAS BLACK DANCE THEATRE: Founded in 1976 by Ann Williams, Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s mission is to create and produce contemporary modern dance at the highest level of artistic excellence through performances and educational programs that bridge cultures and reach diverse communities. As the largest and oldest professional dance company in Dallas, DBDT is the fourth-largest Black dance company in the nation, the ninth-largest contemporary modern dance company, and ranked 42nd among the nation’s leading ballet companies. Located in the thriving downtown Dallas Arts District, DBDT has performed worldwide for over 4.5 million arts patrons and 2.7 million students in 31 states and 16 countries on five continents. The performances include two Olympics (1996 & 2012), the nation’s most prestigious venues (Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Broadway, Jacob’s Pillow), and for such luminaries as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and South African President Nelson Mandela. Since the pandemic began in 2020, DBDT performances have also been viewed virtually in over 30 countries. The Company has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpiece Touring Artist (2008) and received the Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Arts Education (2017).
For more details about Dallas Black Dance Theatre visit www.DBDT.com.
