Dance Theatre of Harlem - Fall River Legend

Rating:
Summary: One of DTH's best productions.
Review: You may already know that Dance Theatre of Harlem was founded by Arthur Mitchell, but, as Mr. Mitchell points out in his introduction, George Balanchine was on the board of directors and was very much involved with training the dancers. In some ways, DTH continues the Balanchine tradition better than other companies. "Fall River Legend" is a beautiful production, starring Virginia Johnson as Lizzie Borden. Virginia Johnson was one of the best in her day, and does a flawless job here. (She can also be seen in DTH's "Creole Giselle", available through kultur.com. Ms. Johnson currently teaches and is the editor of Pointe magazine, the only American magazine devoted primarily to ballet and is available through amazon.com) The music was composed by Morton Gould and is exquisitely suitable for this setting. The choreography is wonderfully done by Agnes De Mille. This video was produced in Denmark, and they did a great job with every aspect of it, from the set design to the music. I have been told by some cast members that in their free time, some of the dancers visited the Royal Danish Ballet School to learn a little of the famous Danish ballet technique, and this has added to DTH's wealth of ability. It is a pity that so little of DTH's repertoire is on video, so this is an important addition.