On his debut tour with Dance Theatre of Harlem, a young Robert Garland introduced himself to Lorraine Graves, the trailblazing Norfolk-born ballerina, a principal dancer for the groundbreaking African American classic ballet company.
“Is there anything I should prioritize?” The Juilliard School-trained dancer asked Graves, the rehearsal mistress for the production.
“Prioritize everything!” Graves snapped, wisdom that Garland follows more than 30 years later. Only he’s evolved from one of the company’s principal dancers and its inaugural resident choreographer to its artistic director.
DTH will perform its signature ballet, “Firebird,” in Norfolk Friday through Sunday with three performances at Chrysler Hall with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.
On March 24, DTH will perform at the Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, including “New Bach,” a neoclassical ballet created by Garland and first performed in September 2001. The events are part of the Virginia Arts Festival.
“I just keep the trains running,” shrugged Garland, when asked about his role in the revival of the Russian folk tale that combines lavish costumes, vibrant sets and electrifying dance.
DTH initially performed the Igor Stravinsky classic from 1910 in Paris on Jan. 12, 1982. Subsequent performances ensued, though the company has not performed it since 2004.
Garland said its reprisal is a tribute to Arthur Mitchell, co-founder of DTH and the first Black principal dancer at New York City Ballet. The DTH company, founded in 1969 in a converted garage in Harlem, was the first to offer dancers of color opportunities to excel in the ballet world.
The company returned to Paris to restage the ballet last month and will head to New York for an April tour, but the Norfolk performances carry a special meaning for Garland. His first meeting with Graves, who died in 2024, started a cherished friendship.
“She was remarkable, “ he said. “She had a photographic memory. She could remember literally anything from watching it and then teach it to other people."
Graves, a powerful, majestic dancer who stood 5-foot-10, drew critical acclaim as the Princess of Unreal Beauty in “Firebird.”
Garland laughs when sharing one of his favorite Graves memories. He was giddy after being handed his first per diem for meals during DTH performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
“We got cash in an envelope,” said Garland, who set out for Georgetown for a clothes shopping spree. He left no reserve for meals and Graves suspected a problem.
“What have you done?” she asked.
“I spent all my money, Miss Lorraine,” Garland confessed.
“For that whole week in Washington, she cooked dinner for me every night,” Garland said. “It’s an honor to close the circle by appearing in her hometown.”
Garland describes the Norfolk production, which will feature dancers from the North Carolina School for the Arts, as “exactly the same” as the spectacle in 1982.
Back then, Trinidadian dancer, actor and artist Geoffrey Holder reimagined the sets and costumes into an exotic Caribbean setting. With his father’s passing, Leo Holder created the backdrops for the current production by photographing his father’s canvases, according to a recent story in Harper’s Bazaar magazine. That enabled him to digitally restore them and reprint the designs on modern material.
Garland credits Geoffrey Holder’s ideas as Afro-futuristic “before it became popular.” The story of “Firebird” centers on love conquering evil, told through a Black woman’s strength as opposed to a mythical creature. In keeping with the Caribbean theme, syncopated rhythms infuse Stravinsky’s score.
Garland is particularly touched when the Firebird vanquishes the Prince of Evil, a moment he believes will resonate with audiences. The Berceuse or “Lullaby of the Firebird” is a nod to Stravinsky’s Russian roots and partial homesickness.
“It’s a long, mournful solo where the dancer has to run on the tips of her toes for quite a long time,” Garland said. “It’s so tremendously moving.”
Three students from the Governor’s School for the Arts will be in the ensemble. Junior Jacob Barrow will dance as a monster, and senior Maya Boone and junior Marlee Brown will be maidens.
Other repertoire on the Chrysler Hall program includes “Donizetti Variations,” a lively, effervescent series of dances set to Donizetti’s Don Sebastian opera; “Symphony No. 1,” a thrilling take on Adolphus Hailstork’s music; and “Take Me With You,” a contemporary ballet duet set to the music of English rockers Radiohead. Hailstork, an Eminent Scholar in Old Dominion University's Department of Music, will attend Sunday’s matinee.
Family members of Graves will also be in attendance over the weekend.
Visit vafest.org for tickets and more information.
