Dallas Black Dance Theatre (DBDT) celebrates its 46th anniversary with works by internationally acclaimed choreographers and a DBDT-grown artist. The Director’s Choice series features the classic works of Elisa Monte, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Tommie-Waheed Evans, and a world premiere by Dallas native My’Kal Stromile. Texas Instruments is the presenting sponsor for the series. The Jean Baptiste “Tad” Adoue, III Fund/The Dallas Foundation and The Kaleta A. Doolin Foundation are the choreography sponsors. The performance takes place November 4-5, 2022, at 7:30 PM CDT in the Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre in the Dallas Arts District. The Saturday performance can also be viewed in real-time via live stream and on-demand until Monday 11:59 PM CST.

Boston Ballet company member and DBDT alum My’Kal Stromile returns home to choreograph a world premiere of Baile del Corazon. Stromile created the new work to inspire movement and dance flowing from the heart. He describes the solo as a heart dance expressing all the beautiful things about dance. Stromile was once a rapidly-rising teenage phenom at Dallas Black Dance Academy who, at age 14, earned an invitation to dance with the second company of Dallas Black Dance Theatre. He remained a company member until he graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and went on to graduate from The Juilliard School on a full scholarship.

DBDT dancers push themselves beyond their normal limits with surging energy while performing Pigs and Fishes. Esteemed choreographer Elisa Monte delivers her signature style in this daring, intense, passionate, and athletic dance. Alvin Ailey first commissioned the work for his company in 1982. Considered a classic, it is an exquisite lesson in contemporary modern dance.

Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Dallas premiere of Road to One embraces the road we take to leave a legacy in our lives. Moutrie was inspired to choreograph the high-energy ensemble to honor a mentor who introduced him to arts at a young age. A graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School, Moultrie is one of the few choreographers working in the theater, ballet, modern, and commercial dance genres.

Tommie-Waheed Evans brings Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “We Shall Overcome” speech to life in the work Bodies as Site of Faith and Protest. Evans first developed the work as part of his college thesis exploring how speeches from the Civil Rights Movement served as a vehicle for social change but also self-assertiveness. DBDT first premiered an excerpt from the work in 2018. The dancers sing A capella in the work, which adds depth and another layer of complexity to the performance.

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Director’s Choice

November 4 - 5, 2022, 7:30 PM

Dee & Charles Wyly Theatre

2400 Flora St.

Dallas, TX

In-person + Live streaming + On-demand

NO SUBSCRIPTIONS OR GROUP DISCOUNTS FOR THE 46TH SEASON

Dallas Black Dance Theatre limits seating capacity to allow for social distancing in all performance venues. Because of the limited in-person ticket availability, DBDT will not be able to give discounts to groups or subscriptions this year.

In-person tickets, $45 - $65.

Live streaming tickets, $25 per household.

Watch a live stream of the performance at 7:30 PM CDT on Saturday, November 5, 2022, or on-demand at 10:30 PM CDT Saturday -Monday, November 7, 2022, at 11:59 PM CDT.

For more performance details, visit www.DBDT.com.

2022-2023 | Legacy Sponsor

Simmons Sisters Fund 2022-2023| Catalyst Sponsors The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, Texas Instruments, The Eugene McDermott Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Anonymous

2022 - 2023 | DBDT Season Sponsors

City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture, NBC 5, The Dallas Morning News, Texas Metro News, American Airlines, Oversee My IT, Shubert Foundation, Inc., DART, TACA, Dallas Weekly, and Texas Commission on the Arts

2022- 2023 | DBDT Season Supporters

The Rea Charitable Trust, Lexus, fyi50+, The Dallas Examiner, The Dallas Post Tribune, Elite News, Trendy Africa, and Arts+Culture

ABOUT DALLAS BLACK DANCE THEATRE: Founded in 1976 by Ann Williams, under the direction of Melissa M. Young, Dallas Black Dance Theatre’s mission is to create and produce contemporary modern dance at the highest level of artistic excellence through performances and educational programs that bridge cultures and reach diverse communities. As the largest and oldest professional dance company in Dallas, DBDT is the fourth-largest Black dance company in the nation, the ninth-largest contemporary modern dance company, and ranked 40th among the nation’s leading ballet companies. Located in the thriving downtown Dallas Arts District, DBDT has performed worldwide for over 4.5 million arts patrons and 2.7 million students in 31 states and 16 countries on five continents. The performances include two Olympics (1996 & 2012), the nation’s most prestigious venues (Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Broadway, Jacob’s Pillow), and for such luminaries as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and South African President Nelson Mandela. Since the pandemic began in 2020, DBDT performances have also been viewed virtually in 34 countries. The Company has been recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as an American Masterpiece Touring Artist (2008) and received the Texas Medal of the Arts Award for Arts Education (2017).

For more details about Dallas Black Dance Theatre visit www.DBDT.com.