In this special three-performance engagement at Sidney Harman Hall, DTH stages their acclaimed Higher Ground, a 2021 social commentary set to Stevie Wonder's Motown hits. The piece mixes neoclassical dancing with contemporary African-American social dancing, as choreographed by Dance Theatre of Harlem's resident choreographer Robert Garland.

For the second half of the program, DTH presents the world-premiere ballet, Sounds of Hazel, co-commissioned by Washington Performing Arts, and inspired by the life and work of Hazel Scott—the prodigiously gifted Trinidadian-American jazz and classical pianist, bandleader, recording artist, and star of stage and screen. Scott, also known for her fervent civil rights activism, suffered persecution at the height of her fame amid the hysteria of McCarthyism. DTH founding member and artistic director Virginia Johnson, choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher, and composer Erica Lewis-Blunt spearhead the Sounds of Hazel creative team.

In Rea-Fisher’s words: “Hazel Scott was a diva with a capital ‘D,’ but she was also super-grounded. She was not afraid to be raw and rough while also being glamorous. Her erasure from history was intentional because she was so audacious. People actively tried to erase her…so to be able to not only not erase her but celebrate her for all that she is and was is really super-super exciting.”

Presented in partnership with CityDance.