Dance Theatre of
Harlem

Like many civic organizations, the Dance Theatre of Harlem had a financially difficult year, and was unable to host their annual gala event during which they typically raise the majority of their funding. As a way to continue the tradition, Dance Theatre of Harlem decided to host a virtual fundraiser, and upon the recommendation of The Apollo Theater, they reached out to CONVICTS to help fill their programming needs.

We proposed a series of films about the various phases in the life of a DTH student:

"The arts ignite the mind. They give you the possibility to dream and hope." -Arthur Mitchell, DTH Co-Founder At Dance Theater of Harlem the beauty on stage is the outward result of inward transformation. DTH’s cultivation of character and spirit fuels the grace of each dancer.

In 1971, Dance Theatre of Harlem gave its very first performance in which every dancer’s tights and shoes matched their unique skin tones. From that moment, ballet would be forever transformed by the innovation of Llanchie Stevenson – a founding DTH Principal Dancer, DTH's Wardrobe Mistress Zelda Wynn and DTH Co-Founder Arthur Mitchell.

Now a singular presence in the ballet world, the Dance Theatre of Harlem Company tours nationally and internationally, presenting a powerful vision for ballet in the 21st century. The 17-member, multi-ethnic company performs a forward-thinking repertoire that includes treasured classics, neoclassical works by George Balanchine and resident choreographer Robert Garland, as well as innovative contemporary works that use the language of ballet to celebrate African American culture.

Given the safety protocols and restrictions of the year, we adapted and developed workarounds to create the four films, and focused sourcing from Dance Theater of Harlem’s extensive archive of footage, interviews from the past, FaceTime interviews from the present, voiceovers and sourced imagery.