American Dance Festival BALLET ASHANI Preview

Iyun Ashani Harrison is the founder, executive, and artistic director of the Durham-based Ballet Ashani—A Contemporary Ballet and Associate Professor of the Practice of Dance at Duke University. Harrison has an extensive resume of prior professional dance credits. He performed with the Dance Theatre of Harlem under Arthur Mitchell's leadership, Ballet Hispanico while directed by Tina Ramirez, The National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica during Dr. Rex Nettleford's direction, and Ailey II (the junior company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) under Sylvia Waters' leadership.

Here, Iyun Ashani Harrison (IAH) shares more on his personal background and the Durham-based Ballet Ashani — A Contemporary Ballet with Picture This Post (PTP) readers—-

(PTP) How do your prior dance experiences shape your choreography today?

(IAH) During my tenure at the Dance Theatre of Harlem, I danced an eclectic repertoire, including works by Geoffrey Holder, George Balanchine, Billy Wilson, Michael Smuin, Robert Garland, and Glen Tetley. These choreographers, as well as works I performed at Ailey, such as Revelations and others by Jiří Kylián, Lila York, Paul Taylor, and José Limón at Juilliard, provided a vast movement vocabulary and musical and theatrical range I still employ in my work.

What inspired you to create Ballet Ashani?

I founded a previous iteration of Ballet Ashani as Ashani Dances in Seattle, WA, in 2011. When I returned to the East Coast from California in 2021, I saw an opportunity to focus on a vision of ballet that could be more inclusive and engaging beyond its artifice. I felt ballet could do more—tell powerful stories representing more communities and a diverse range of practitioners, particularly for Black and Brown people.

Have you seen more racial and cultural diversity in the ballet world as a whole in recent years or?

I have. Like many other professions, 2020 was a reckoning for the ballet industry. Since then, major U.S. ballet organizations have made substantive efforts to be more inclusive and acknowledge the contributions of Blacks in ballet. However, much more must be accomplished at the funding and presenting levels to elevate work by under-supported Black ballet artists and organizations like Ballet Ashani.

…In my work, I collaborate with and presents the work of artists of color and women to expand racial and cultural diversity in ballet and attract new audiences.

What prompted you to create the Dance of the Olympiad (2024) for its world premiere at the American Dance Festival?

This work celebrates the convergence of the 2024 Paris Olympics and ADF. The Ballet Ashani dancers are exquisite, and I wanted to create a vehicle for them to shine, depicting their athleticism, musicality, and artistry. Perhaps one of the most significant commissions I have received, I wanted to create a non-narrative work aligned with my current aesthetic interest. I am working in a neoclassical vocabulary that utilizes gestures that conjure the Black vernacular and, in particular, the articulations of the torso and pelvis, which are so central to my Jamaican dance heritage.

How did your creative process on this work unfold?

Typically, I first identify music that supports my conceptual framework. Unsurprisingly, music is critical to my process because of my education at The Juilliard School.

For example, when I created Giovanni's Room last year, I commissioned new digital music composed by Aaron Brown. I paired it with several of Maurice Ravel's compositions from when Baldwin's novel was set. The music helped support the direction of the narrative and emphasized the story's more poignant plot points.

For Dance of the Olympiad (2024), I revisited two pieces by Arvo Pärt, which I had listened to for over a decade before I felt the appropriate opportunity arose. Here, I collaborate with my dancers, calling on their mastery of ballet vocabulary and leaning into their strengths as musical artists.

How does your teaching role impact Ballet Ashani and vice versa?

My teaching is a laboratory for honing my work. I often investigate creative ideas with my students before bringing them into a professional company. In turn, my creative research in the profession informs the currency of the data I bring into the classroom. They are a mutually reciprocal process.

How do you find and develop the talent in your company?

This is a difficult task in my current location - some cities have an excess of well-trained contemporary ballet dancers, but this is different here. Most dancers identify as classical or contemporary and even dislike the other genre. However, Ballet Ashani's social media presence helps recruit talent, and referrals play a significant role in who dances with the company. Lastly, I choreograph various educational projects and meet dancers through those avenues.

My dancers might tell you that I provide class and coach extensively during rehearsals. However, I also rely on them to bring their expertise to the studio and leave some creative decision-making up to them. I work tirelessly to provide as many opportunities for my dancers as possible, and the more we work together, the more we understand each other's strengths and weaknesses and support each other to build an impactful product.

For more information visit the Ballet Ashani website.

To see this world premiere of Dance of the Olympiad (2024) and other performances in the Made in North Carolina focus in the American Dance Festival on July 7, 2024, visit the American Dance Festival website.

All photos courtesy of Ballet Ashani. Slider photos are scenes from Ballet Ashani's GIOVANNI'S ROOM, photographer Joe Lambert.