Dance Theatre of Harlem artists Derick Brockington and Delaney Washington. Photo by Nir Arieli

Fresh from leading two masterclasses with Alberta Ballet students in Calgary, Robert Garland, the visionary Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH), brings his acclaimed company to Edmonton’s Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium for two performances on Friday, February 21 and Saturday, February 22. I caught up with Garland between rehearsals to discuss the upcoming shows. 

When the former Dance Theatre of Harlem principal dancer speaks about the ballet world, his perspective spans a remarkable arc from student to leader. A Juilliard graduate who joined DTH as an apprentice under founder Arthur Mitchell, Garland worked his way up through the ranks to become principal dancer and later the company’s first resident choreographer. His journey extended beyond performance when Mitchell, recognizing Garland’s broader talents, appointed him director of DTH’s school – a role that would shape his understanding of how dance organizations function at every level, from teaching children to managing tuition payments.

Now as Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem, Garland continues the company’s legacy of breaking barriers in classical ballet while maintaining its deep commitment to education. This philosophy traces back to Mitchell’s mentor George Balanchine, who insisted that a dance company must first have a school – a principle that proved transformative when DTH opened its doors in Harlem in the 1960s. Despite critics’ doubts about community interest in ballet, the school quickly attracted hundreds of students, establishing itself as a vital cultural institution that would go on to influence dance education globally, from South African townships to televised appearances on Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Can you take me take me through the four pieces and your artistic intention in this performance?

 I put together my program experience now the way I experienced it when I was very young, 10 years old. We have something that reflected African American culture, which Return with James Brown was. I have something on the program that is from Arthur Mitchell’s mentor, George Balanchine, the Pas de Dix, which is a wonderful ballet, a tutu ballet. Then Take Me With You and Nyman’s String Quartet No. 2 are both contemporary works to sit in the contemporary slot. So really, a kind of smorgasbord of different styles with everything from the George Balanchine and neoclassical arena and African American aesthetic and the contemporary or newer kind of things, a taste of everything.

What is the emotion behind it, or the message, or what is your focus?

I think is that the arts has a little bit for everyone, that is like the music as well. You know, we have the classical music for Pas de Dix. We have James Brown and Aretha Franklin’s popular music for Return and then the Nyman String Quartets by a guy named Michael Nyman, who was a wonderful composer. He became famous music for a long time ago for a movie called The Piano. That’s where  I first heard him.

When I put together a brand, it’s very important to me that, because there are some people coming to ballet who have never heard classical music, so the pop gets them movin’ and groovin’.

What do you hope for the audience to take away from it? And for the dancers watching, what could they take from the performance?

Oh, the fact that you know, we are all connected through this beautiful art form. My time here in Canada, it’s been wonderful. The arts is a place where people can connect and reconnect.

Tickets are available at albertaballet.com