Challenging the Norms

THE DANCE THEATRE of Harlem is known for its broad and electric repertoire, ranging from innovative modern pieces to dance-dramas like "A Streetcar Named Desire" to daring reinterpretations of classical ballets. Just 15 years old, it is considered a peer of leading American companies like The New York City Ballet and American Ballet Theater.

But the Dance Theatre of Harlem was born in response to profoundly different needs, and their performances in Boston last week showed the unique perspective they bring to American dance. Arthur Mitchell, the current director, founded the company in 1969 as his commitment to the people of Harlem following the tragic assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Today, the multiracial company includes 48 dancers and sports a repertoire of more than 60 classical, modern and ethnic pieces. By forcing us to rethink and reconsider traditional stereotypes and associations, the company represents a deliberate expansion of classical ballet.

For instance, in its performance of the classic "Swan Lake," the company wore blue costumes rather than white. And the dancers introduced a new perspective on "Giselle," setting it in ante-bellum Louisiana rather than the forest of the Rhineland.

"Giselle," a 19th century romantic classic, was inspired by the German legend of the 'Willis'--the ghosts of young women who die before they marry. Bitterly tormented by unfulfilled love, they wander the earth from midnight to dawn luring unsuspecting males into a dance to their death.

Director Mitchell discovered a similar legend of unrequited love in southern Louisiana, as well as local Creole social customs which allowed him to transpose the classic story: in the mid-19th century, a daughter of a recently freed salve was forbidden to marry a son of a family who had been freed in the 18th century. This Giselle, in love with Albert (whose family had already been free for a century), could never marry him. This tragedy stems from their frustrated love.

UNFORTUNATELY, THE COMPANY stressed the dramatic aspects of the story, leaving less time and space for their usual exuberant exhibition of their command of dance. Instead, this recently premiered 'Creole Giselle' offers a provocative American historical portrayal of the classic white-tutu ballet.

With colorful sets and costumes, the first act opens on a magnificent set of Madame Lenaux' Louisiana farm. The women are dressed in calico and straw hats, and the men are milling about, reveling in the sun and the sugar-cane harvest.

Virginia Johnson is Giselle, the sheltered daughter of a protective mother, and her dancing throughout is that of a subdued girl--partly due to choreography that at times fails to parallel the rising climaxes in Adolphe Adam's music.

Shortly after the story begins, her beloved Albert's secret gets out--he is an imposter actually betrothed to another woman. But even then, as challenging townspeople gather and chaos temporarily ensues, Eddie Shellman's Albert is the star. Shellman intakes Albert an alternately flirtatious and compassionate man, and always a technically strong, exciting dancer with commanding presence.

Albert's chameleon-like personality is too much for the love struck Giselle, and her trauma worsens slowly to psychosis and finally death, all caused by her broken heart. From there, the Americanization continues as a Southern bayou replaces a German graveyard. As two dozen Willis enter to initiate Giselle, Albert arrives at the haunting bayou. But before he is lured into his own dance of death, Albert is saved and Giselle's generosity releases her soul from the fate of becoming a Willi. Shellman is a powerful dancer to the last moment, his leaps and turns gaining strength as the momentum built. In all, Mitchell's "Creole Giselle" is provocative, and its connection to American history and culture gives it strength that could not be gleaned from the mystical 19th century German forest.

A PERFECT COUNTERPOINT to "Creole Giselle" was the first work of the night, "Troy Dance," a short, fantastic work choreographed by Robert North with music by Bob Downes. The dozen-man ensemble rolled, leaped, and cart wheeled across a bare stage in various pairs and groups. This comical celebration of machodom neatly balanced the somber 'Creole Giselle,' reminding us of the perversely ambiguous history of the American south. The Brazilian music--rhythmic drums, cymbals and xylophones and the set's rapidly changing colors provided a lively background for the jazzy, athletic dance.

These two selections indicate both the company's objectives, as well as their effects. They choose both to continue the tradition of classical ballet and challenge those norms with the pioneering company's ethnicity and links to Black history and culture. Furthermore, by using modern and jazz dance as much as ballet--and not just as fringes to the main event--they break down the parameters constraining most companies.