The acclaimed Dance Theatre of Harlem is also coming to town with performances at the Detroit Opera House on October 21st and 22nd.

(gentle rhythmic music) (waves lapping) - [Narrator] My mother left Trinidad when she was three years old, but Trinidad never left her.

The music, the rhythms, the food, the culture, (waves lapping) carnival, church bells, they never left her.

(upbeat rousing music) (rhythmic music) - The company combines classical ballet with the music of the cultural movements and communities that inspired its creation in 1969.

I spoke with artistic director Robert Garland about the troop's innovative style.

Robert Garland, welcome to "American Black Journal."

- Oh, it's good to be here.

I love Detroit.

So it's a very exciting moment for me.

- Yeah, yeah.

So we're excited that you guys are coming to Detroit.

Tell us what people who go to the show are gonna expect and experience.

- Well, it will be a performance at the Opera House.

I want to say typical dance at the Harlem theater, but, you know, I mean, I've always said our company is for the people by the people.

And so the program is full of things that are for people that are looking for, things that touching the Black experience, to contemporary, to the purely classical.

So it's a mix of things.

Opening the program will be my ballet "Return," sets the music of James Brown and Aretha Franklin, which is a crowd favorite.

- Yeah.

- And then we move into a Balanchine ballet, who is Arthur Mitchell, our founder's mentor, which is purely classical.

Then there's a duet called When Love, which is contemporary.

We're closing with something called Blake Works IV, choreographed by the great and well-known choreographer, Bill Forsythe.

- Wow.

- So, it's a well-balanced program.

- Yeah, yeah.

One of the great things about the Dance Theatre is the way it draws on history and the movements that have shaped our history to kind of present, you know, modern dance, modern interpretations of it.

I would imagine that that's an ever changing dynamic and equation though, right?

Like how you draw in the past to frame the present.

- It definitely is.

It definitely is.

Last year, I premiered my Stevie Wonder ballet, of course, in Detroit, (Stephen chuckles) which is much of the same thing.

I often say that, you know, there are two major institutions devoted to dance that were founded by Black people.

That is of course Alvin Ailey, and it's founder Alvin Ailey, and Dance Theatre of Harlem, founded by Arthur Mitchell, who knew Alvin Ailey very well, by the way.

They worked together on several Broadway shows.

But I've always said that Dance Theatre of Harlem is unique in the sense that we were founded after the civil rights movement.

- Yeah.

- That we were the company that said, "You know, what, why can't we do ballet?"

- Right.

- When Arthur Mitchell first started then, he said, "Ballet, Harlem, how is that gonna go together?"

And it did.

And it still does to this day, 54 years later.

- Yeah, yeah.

Talk about the dance and the comeback of live performances since the pandemic and the fact that we can all enjoy these things in each other's company again.

What's different about it now?

- You know, what's different, I think, is that we have a complete appreciation for being with one another that we did not have heretofore.

- Yeah.

- I will shift a little, I was director of the school before I was artistic director.

And prior to the pandemic, our three-year-olds, when they would audition, there was a lot of crying, lots of screaming, they'd start classes, lots of separation anxiety, all of that.

Since the pandemic, the three-year-olds are with each other, they put their hands on their shoulders.

They do their choo-choo train.

They wave goodbye to their parents and they keep it moving.

And I think that that has come about because they had no physical interaction with any other kids for almost a year and a half.

- Yeah, sure.

- You know, and so that has been a blessing.

And so the theater is happening in much the same way.

- Yeah.

- Being with one another in these spaces, be it church or the theater, where we get to share the things we love.

- Yeah, and I would imagine, of course, the response that you're getting from these live audiences is, you know, celebration, but also relief, right, that this is all back.

- That's right, celebration and a lot of relief.

- Yeah.

- You know, here in Harlem, and for our people nationwide, you know, we were the first responders.

- Right.

- Our parents and the schools were first responders.

Our communities were first responders.

So we bore the brunt of a lot of the things that happened that were not so pleasant.

So this gives us an opportunity.

Yes, go see the Little Mermaid, but then also come to see Dance Theatre of Harlem.

- Yeah.

- Where you get to meet and greet and see people live, and, no pun intended, in living color.

- Yeah, right.

(chuckles) I also wanna talk about the future of Black dance, Black performing arts.

I mean, you work with young people.

You see them and interact with them.

How hopeful are you about what's to come?

I mean, all of this changes over time, of course, but we gotta keep it going.

We gotta sustain it.

Where do you see that coming from?

- I see that coming from local communities, you know.

By and large, the dance environment in the major areas, New York, LA, Detroit, often relied on a lot of out of town activity moving inwards.

And I think the pandemic helped us to kind of get to a space of understanding that, hey, you know there's someone right down the street.

You know, there's someone that's right here that can help to create a vibrant arts environment.

So for me, that is what I'm looking for.

And also relationship with communities that are similar to Harlem.

- Yeah.

- I love Detroit.

Arthur Mitchell, our founder, love Detroit.

- Yeah.

- Our executive director, Anna Glass is from Detroit.

You know, so I'm just really excited to, not only have a performance, but also reengage with people that I don't consider as just colleagues but also family at the Opera House and et cetera.

- Yeah, as you mentioned before, you're in this role somewhat newly, but you've been with the Dance Theatre for some time.

Talk about the things that you're seeing and experiencing for the first time.

- Well, you know, as I said in another space where I was talked to a funder, actually.

- Yeah.

- I said, you know, I was resident choreographer and I ran the school.

So I ran the school and I created work for the company.

And in that space as a choreographer, I'm sort of like the babysitter, you know?

But now I'm the parent.

- Yeah, right.

- And it's a completely different vibe.

Like completely different, you know.

So not only do I, you know, come in for the moment as not as the babysitter, but I come in, I have to make sure everything's in place.

I have to put the tours together.

I have to be that person.

And so it's been very exciting, very different, but very exciting for me, this shift into the artistic directorship role.

- Yeah, yeah.

Okay, well, we're excited y'all are coming to Detroit.

We, of course, love to see the theater here, but thanks for coming and talking to us on "American Black Journal" as well.

- Thank you so, so much.

It's an honor and a pleasure, Stephen.