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?
