Dallas Black Dance Theatre

In the midst of celebrating its 37th season as the oldest, continuously operating professional dance company in Dallas, the ensemble, a contemporary modern dance company, consists of 12 professional, diverse and multiethnic full-time dancers performing a mixed repertory of modern, jazz, ethnic and spiritual works by nationally and internationally known choreographers. Designated an “American Masterpiece Touring Artist” by the National Endowment for the Arts, the company has performed in 30 states, 14 countries and 5 continents and has toured Peru, South Africa, Austria, Uganda, Japan, Great Britain, Italy, Canada and many other countries elevating its international reputation. Dallas Black Dance Theatre will teach a Community Master Class hosted by Dogtown Dance Theatre on Saturday, September 21 at 10am.

The company opens the evening with Variations I, a structural composition of theme and variation and collaboration between choreographer, Milton Myers, and composer, William Catanzaro. Asadata Dafora’s pioneering 1932 solo, Awassa Astrige/Ostrich, follows with a single male dancer imitating the graceful but powerful movements of the ostrich, king of the birds. Margaret Putman of Theater Jones declares "Ostrich deserves its popularity: all sinewy muscle, the bare-chested, feather-skirted Christopher McKenzie strides back and forth with unhurried ease, turning his head casually, he is the image of a proud and magnificent creature."

The program continues with choreographer Bridget Moore's Southern Recollections: For Romare Bearden dedicated to the life and work of Bearden who left a legacy of art that is socially relevant, depicts beauty in color, revealing his love and passion for humanity. "Combining jazz-dance language, everyday gestures and ballet moves, particularly pirouettes, Moore structured Southern Recollections around sudden yet smooth changes in direction. Sensual hip and shoulder rolls were enhanced by skin-tight dresses in shades of blue, green, yellow, red and hot pink that recalled 1920s club fashion" declares dance critic Manuel Mendoza of Dallas Morning News. Instinct: 11.1 and ...And Now Marvin close the program with a tribute to a mother and the legendary artist Marvin Gaye.

Ann M. Williams, founder and artistic director of Dallas Black Dance Theatre, is a founding member of the Dance Council and The International Association of Blacks in Dance. Ms. Williams received her early dance training under Barbara Hollis, a member of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, Edith James, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. She received additional training under Alvin Ailey and Arthur Mitchell. For 36 years, Ms. Williams has directed Dallas Black Dance Theatre from a community-based and semi-professional organization to a professional dance company. DBDT's repertoire includes works of such noted choreographers as Alvin Ailey, Ulysses Dove, Talley Beatty, Christopher Huggins, Elisa Monte, Milton Myers, David Parsons, Darryl B. Sneed, and others. Williams serves on the Board of Directors of Texas Ballet Theater and The International Association of Blacks in Dance. She is a dance consultant and has served as a dance panelist for the City of Dallas/Office of Cultural Affairs, Texas Commission on the Arts, Dallas Center for the Performing Arts Foundation, Houston Arts Council, Arkansas Arts Council, the Corsicana PRIDE Project, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Company member and VCU Dance alumnus Richard A. Freeman, Jr., who choreographs works for Dallas Black Dance Theatre, DBDT II, and the Atlanta Dance Connection, will be performing. He is the former Assistant Director for DBDT’s Bloom Performing Ensemble and currently a teacher in the Dallas Black Dance Academy. Freeman is "long, lean and elastic" observes dance critic Manuel Mendoza. At the age of ten, Freeman received a three-year scholarship with the Washington Ballet and is one of DBDT's most talented male dancers as well as a favorite with his colleagues, says Ann Williams. While a student at VCU Dance, Williams saw Freeman in a summer dance program and offered him a place in her company on the spot.