Dear UNCSA Community,
I am delighted to share that UNCSA and Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) today announced a multiyear partnership, uniting our two esteemed institutions
to elevate educational and professional opportunities for our students in the School
of Dance, and provide opportunities to revitalize iconic works from the DTH canon
as well as co-curate new works and creative projects.
Through the partnership, student dancers from UNCSA will have the extraordinary opportunity
to train with the renowned artists of Dance Theatre of Harlem in New York while dancers
from DTH will visit the UNCSA campus in Winston-Salem to conduct educational activities
and performances on campus and throughout North Carolina.
The DTH-UNCSA partnership is made possible with funding and programmatic support from
The Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts and is part of a larger effort to expand and evolve industry partnerships for UNCSA,
a pillar of UNCSA Forward, our strategic plan. Partnerships like these benefit our students
with professional opportunities and elevate their training and UNCSA experience. The
School of Dance has been a leader at UNCSA in the area of industry partnerships, and
now has relationships with both DTH and American Ballet Theatre, with whom it has
been an educational affiliate since 2011.
The first phase of the partnership will culminate with performances of Dance Theatre
of Harlem’s iconic “Firebird,” during Spring Dance at High Point Theatre, April 25-27,
featuring original choreography and costumes, and with DTH company artists Alexandra
Hutchinson and Derek Brockington dancing lead roles on opening night. Several of our
student dancers traveled to New York over spring break to train with former DTH principal
dancers Charmaine Hunter and Donald Williams for this production.The UNCSA Symphony
Orchestra, conducted by School of Music faculty member Mark Norman, will perform Stravinsky’s score, and will record “Firebird”
for future DTH performances on the university’s new label, UNCSA Media.
Following the UNCSA performances, the work will continue to evolve, ultimately returning
to Dance Theatre of Harlem’s repertoire in future seasons, with UNCSA student dancers
performing as guests in the corps de ballet at select engagements.
So as you can see, there are myriad ways in which this partnership will benefit our
student artists. It exemplifies our commitment to providing our students with unparalleled
opportunities for artistic growth and professional development. By collaborating with
one of the world's most esteemed dance companies, with a proven mission of educating
the next generation of diverse artists, we are ensuring that our students receive
training at the highest level, further positioning them for success in their careers.
We are so fortunate to have Dean Endalyn Outlaw – herself a former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem and former director
of the Dance Theatre of Harlem School – to help forge such impactful partnerships,
and we are immensely grateful to the Kenan Institute for their visionary support.
I can’t wait to see what this new partnership has in store in the coming years, and
the ways in which all the schools at UNCSA can benefit from this collaboration as
we move forward with new ideas for leveraging our work together.
Sincerely,
Brian Cole
Chancellor
April 12, 2024