Dance Theatre of Harlem in Darrell Grand Moultrie's work "Harlem on My Mind." Photo by Rich Sofranko.
Weeks before any dancers from Dance Theatre of Harlem stepped foot in Louisville, a few young journalists began learning about its history and that of African Americans in ballet — including dancers and teachers here in Louisville.
From late October until even the day after the company’s Friday performance at The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Maddie Hayden and Faith Lindsay participated in a workshop run by Arts Bureau Edge, a new youth arts journalism program.
Besides talking with local African-American dancers and teachers, they interviewed a member of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) and attended the company’s rehearsal and the performance.
Lindsay even took photos and wrote about a special masterclass led by DTH artistic director Virginia Johnson the morning after the performance. Here are the results of all their hard work.
— Elizabeth Kramer
Elizabeth Kramer founded Arts Bureau Edge with Frances Ward-Simmons. Maggie Huber was the photography mentor to Faith Lindsey. Special thanks goes to The Kentucky Center and Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Appreciation to panel discussion participants: Tiffany Poindexter, ballet teacher at Safiyyah Dance Co.; Brandon Ragland, dancer at the Louisville Ballet and teacher at Louisville Ballet school; Harlina Trumbo, artistic director at La’Nita Rocknettes School of Dance, and Portia White, instructor at Kentucky Center’s ArtsReach Dance Ensemble who also had re-founded her mother’s organization, Genesis Arts.
Much gratitude goes to Keith Stone and Scott Recker of LEO for working in this collaborative journalism partnership and publishing the young reporters articles online in LEO Weekly.