Three events headline this month’s calendar: Dance Theatre of Harlem at City Center (April 8 to April 11), EMoves at Harlem Stage (April 10 to April 18) and Ballet Hispanico at the Joyce (April 14 to April 26).
Dance Theatre of Harlem returns to City Center with tributes to giants we lost to the ancestors: Geoffrey Holder, called “a godfather to DTH,” and Mary Hinkson, “another of the great ones dear to DTH,” notes the release. For this four-performance run, the company will present two programs: “What’s New,” featuring New York premieres “Vessels” by Darrell Grand Moultrie and “Coming Together” by Nacho Duato, plus repertory works “Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven” by Ulysses Dove and a new production of “Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux” by George Balanchine.
The second program, “Classic DTH,” will feature “Agon” by George Balanchine, “In the Mirror of Her Mind” by Christopher Huggins and “Return” by resident choreographer Robert Garland. For more information, visit www.nycitycenter.org.
For the 16th edition of the acclaimed dance series E-Moves at Harlem Stage’s Gatehouse, the artists join in the citywide celebration “The Year of James Baldwin,” commemorating Baldwin’s 90th birthday, and Billie Holiday’s 100th. Harlem Stage commissioned Andre Zachery and Renegade Performance Group, Brinae Ali, Malcolm Low and Formal Structure and LOVE| FORTÈ (Nia Love and Marjani Forte) to create new work inspired by the words and ideas of Baldwin and the soulful songs of Holiday (April 10, 11 and 17).
Harlem Stage’s “The Takeover” wowed audiences in 2012, and it returns for the final night, April 18. Nine emerging artists were chosen to make site-specific creations throughout the building. The evening will end with a DJ dance party. For more information, visit www.harlemstage.org.
Ballet Hispanico, under artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, returns to the Joyce Theatre (April 14 to April 26) with five programs, including a world premiere and a special family program. The world premiere is Miguel Mancillas’ “Conquer” (2015), the New York premiere of Rosie Herrera’s “Show.Girl.” (2014) and the Joyce premiere of Gustavo Ramirez Sansano’s “CARMEN.maquia” (2014). Also slated for this season is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Sombrerisimo” (2013), Gustavo Ramirez Sansano’s “El Beso” (2014), Vilaro’s “Asuka” (2011) and Ramon Oller’s “Good Night Paradise” (1994). A special afternoon is set aside for the entire family, “Saturday En Familia Program,” where for 90 minutes the company will show excerpts of works and all will enjoy a “fun-filled journey through Latin American dance and culture,” notes the release. A Q&A with the dancers will follow. For more information, visit www.joyce.org.
STILL RUNNING
March 25 to April 4: Flex dancer Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray and director Peter Sellars were commissioned by the Park Avenue Armory to create the new work “FLEXN,” which “transforms the dance from its individual, combative style to create a collaborative work of social commentary inspired by both personal experience and current events,” according to the release. For more information, visit www.armoryonpark.org.
ALSO THIS MONTH
April 4: Earl Mosley Dance Company’s production “Hearts of Men,” as part of Brooklyn Dance Festival in Mosley’s “Wild and Free,” a section from a full evening work titled “Journey,” at BAM Fisher. For more information, visit www.brooklyndancefestival.org.
April 9 to April 11: Cruz Velazquez’s “colectivodoszeta / carlos a. cruz velazquez” returns to LaTea Theater with the final chapter “maybe…(if only I could forget what I’ve done)” of the series “AbsolutelyCharmingThoughts.” For more information, visit www.teatrolatea.com.
April 12: Maurice Hines will host American Tap Dance Foundation’s annual spring fundraiser in support of the Gregory Hines Youth Scholarship Fund. A host of tappers, including Brenda Bufalino, Dormeshia Sumbry Edwards, Felipe Galganni, Jason Samuels Smith, Caleb Teicher and more, are scheduled. For more information, visit www.atdf.org.
April 22 to April 26: The American Tap Dance Foundation’s annual showcase “Rhythm in Motion” returns with two programs featuring contemporary tap dance at the Theater at the 14th Street Y. Rhythm in Motion features works by established and emerging choreographers, including Michelle Dorrance, Brenda Bufalino, Derick K. Grant, Chloe Arnold and more. For more information, visit www.atdf.org.
April 24 to April 25: On a shared program at the Gibney Dance: Agnes Varis Performing Arts Center, Ni’Ja Whitson Adebanjo and the NWA Project bring “When Water Dries the Mouth,” “the second installment of the diptych, studies the emotional experience of deprivation,” notes the release. Also on the program are Elena Rose Light and Alyssa Gersony. For more information, visit gibneydance.org.