Dance Theatre of Harlem

Mixed Repertoire

March 24 + 25

Friday + Saturday • 7:30 pm

Royal Theatre

Tickets DanceVictoria.com or 250-386-6121

Music: James Blake (@jamesblake)

Lighting Design: Brandon Stirling Baker

Costume Design: William Forsythe, Katy A. Freeman (@cici.quinn)

Original Sound: Benjamin Young

Staging/Choreographic

Assistance:

Jodie Gates, Noah Gelber, Benjamin Peralta

Lead Sponsors

Constraints Make You More Creative

Renowned choreographer William Forsythe, famous for his 20-year tenure at Ballet Frankfurt and for mentoring countless dancers and choreographers, was commissioned to set a new work on Dance Theatre of Harlem called Blake Works IV: The Barre Project

The barre represents the foundation of ballet training. It’s a ritual that most dancers continued to do at home during COVID, something to literally hang on to from their normal daily routine. The barre is rarely seen on stage, but it is the inspiration for Forsythe’s The Barre Project series, dedicating the work “for all those who have sustained themselves with a barre in any form.”

Constraints can make you more creative — at least they did for Forsythe. His Blake Works I: The Barre Project was choreographed to seven songs by Grammy-nominated artist James Blake’s The Colour in Anything album for the Paris Opera Ballet — his first work for the company since 1999 — premiering in July 2016 at Palais Garnier. When the world came to a stop in 2020, Forsythe began thinking about a new iteration of The Barre Project Forsythe and Tiler Peck, a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, had wanted to work together for years, but their schedules never coincided until COVID-19 disrupted everyone’s lives. They met via Zoom in 2020, with three other dancers joining the project in August and September: Roman Mejia (New York City Ballet); Brooklyn Mack (formerly with Washington Ballet and a guest with English National Ballet); and Lex Ishimoto (a freelance dancer). Forsythe was at home in Vermont and began to choreograph with them remotely, turning to the electronic music of artist James Blake for the score. Since COVID was preventing in-theatre experiences, he created it for film as a sequel to his Paris Opera project. The choreography for Blake Works II: The Barre Project was created entirely using Zoom with all rehearsal, filming, and assembly taking place bi-coastally and remotely. The team eventually came together in an empty theatre in Los Angeles to film it in September 2020.

In all of his barre projects, Forsythe uses a metal handrail as a theatrical prop rather than a support. The barre defines the space for the choreography, a reference point for Forsythe’s five movement studies. Dance Theatre of Harlem requested that our local technical crew in Victoria build the handrail and paint it black.

Forsythe created Blake Works III: The Barre Project for Boston Ballet again using Blake’s music. In each of the musical movements, instead of featuring only the entire bodies of dancers, a video projection focused on the intentional placements of hands on the barre in each section.

Now, with Dance Theatre of Harlem and Blake Works IV: The Barre Project, Forsythe continues to evolve his series with choreography inspired by Blake’s Lullaby for My Insomniac and other works. Forsythe has created newly choreographed sections that highlight the diverse and formidable talents of the company and is a version of The Barre Project that is unique to Dance Theatre of Harlem alone. We can’t wait to experience this Victoria Premiere!

Watch the Dance Theatre of Harlem dancers rehearsing Blake Works IV: The Barre Project on our Instagram page @dance_victoria FN