Ground-breaking ballet company Dance Theatre of Harlem to perform at Douglass Theatre

Dance Theatre of Harlem, the world's first black classical ballet company, comes to Macon for the first time Wednesday at the historic Douglass Theatre.

Arthur Mitchell, who in 1955 was the first black ballet dancer to join the New York City Ballet, founded the school shortly after the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1969.

"Arthur Mitchell was so touched, so moved by that very dramatic experience that he had to drop what he was doing and be more proactive in the fight," DTH dancer Anthony Javier Savoy said.

Savoy says the company shatters the myth that black students were not suitable to perform classical ballet.

"We are proving every day that yes, we can," Savoy said. "By coming to places that might not necessarily have such a strong history in ballet, children can come and see people who look like them on stage and say, 'Well, maybe I want to do ballet.' "

Savoy says young people need role models.

"I, for one, didn't know many people who grew up watching people of color who were also ballet dancers," Savoy said. "It's such a gift to myself that I can share the experiences that I have had with someone who is like me."

The company that began with 30 kids in a church basement is now regarded as one of the most significant performance ensembles to ever emerge from urban America.

Its dancers have performed before four U.S. presidents and the British royal family, and it was the first foreign dance company to perform in post-apartheid South Africa.

More than 75,000 students and educators have participated in the company's community engagement programs.

DTH will perform several individual dances in its Wednesday night program.

Company dancer Chyrstyn Fentroy says the variety of smaller pieces mean they can tell many stories over the evening and give more opportunity for audiences to find something they like.

"If you go to see 'The Nutcracker,' you might drag your husband along, and he might fall asleep because he's watching ballet," Fentroy said. "But we have ballets that are done to James Brown and Aretha Franklin, and that always gets people moving. We also have things that are more classical or neoclassical like 'Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux.' "

The performance will include a lecture demonstration and conclude with a meet and greet with the dancers.

"It'll be a little more insight into the world of ballet that most people will never have a chance to see -- how we work with our partners, how we prepare our bodies," Savoy said. "You can see how we work our way up to the stage."

In an even more intimate setting, dancers from the 14-member ensemble will conduct an on-site residency Wednesday morning with dance students from Central High School and Miller Middle School. DTH will conduct an advanced class for ballet students from Middle Georgia at the Douglass Theatre on Tuesday.

DTH is the first of three residency programs the Douglass will host this year.

"We think that it's important because the Dance Theatre of Harlem is basically an ensemble of racially diverse artists," said Douglass Theatre Director Gina Ward. "We are trying to bring to the community arts education through our residency program."

Dance Theatre of Harlem

When: 7 p.m. Jan. 27

Where: Douglass Theatre, 355 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Cost: $25; $15 seniors and students

Information: 478-742-2000; www.douglasstheatre.org

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Ground-breaking ballet company Dance Theatre of Harlem to perform at Douglass Theatre ."