October 27 - November 6
Streaming October 27 – November 6
Run time is approximately 30 minutes
Smuin continues our Digital Replay offerings with Salsa ’til Dawn, which premiered during our recent Dance Series 1.
Choreographed by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Salsa ’til Dawn is Moultrie’s first creation for the Company, though we performed his ballet Jazzin’ in 2013. Artistic Director Celia Fushille connected Moultrie with Grammy award-winning composer Charles Fox, who had collaborated with Michael Smuin, and found a surprise link: both Moultrie and Fox had graduated from the same high school!
Using some of Fox’s Cuban jazz compositions, Moultrie created a piece that perfectly captures the dynamism of Smuin. “Music is always the complete inspiration for me,” said Moultrie. “It’s been such an honor to work with an artistic giant like Charles [Fox] and bring his music to life by marrying it with the physicality of dance. With my choreography, I like to celebrate the joy of movement alongside the discipline of the dancers and their technique. Because joy is not trivial! All emotions matter and we need joy in our lives.”
The Los Altos Town Crier said, “Salsa ’til Dawn feels revolutionary in its commitment to expressing not just the joy of dancing, but the joy of being alive. This reviewer cannot think of one bad thing to say about this piece that expertly combines a multitude of genres, emotions, references to artistic movements and pristine technical performance.”
Learn more about how Salsa ’til Dawn came to be in the video below!
Watch a teaser trailer for Salsa ’til Dawn in the video below!
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A recipient of the Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award, Darrell Grand Moultrie has established himself as one of the most diverse and sought-after choreographers and master teachers.
Moultrie has created and staged works for dance companies across the world including American Ballet Theatre, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, BalletX, Atlanta Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet Colorado Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, BalletMet Columbus, Ailey 2, Tulsa Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, The Juilliard School, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, and NBA Ballet in Japan among others.
Moultrie served as the choreographer for the Pulitzer Prize Winning & 2023 Tony Nominated Play Fat Ham. His work can currently be seen in Disney’s new revival of the Tony Award winning musical AIDA, currently playing The Netherlands. . For his work, he received a “Best Choreography” nomination at the Netherland’s Musical Awards. Additional credits include the world premiere of the new musical, Goddess, at Berkeley Repertory Theatre directed by Tony Nominee Saheem Ali, MCC’s Space Dogs, The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Merry Wives, the world premiere of Jeremy O. Harris’s off-Broadway play Daddy, Witness Uganda at American Repertory Theater directed by Tony Winner Diane Paulus, Sugar in Our Wounds at Manhattan Theatre Club, the off-Broadway musical Invisible Thread at Second Stage, the world premiere of Redwood at Portland Center Stage Theater, and Evita and Pride & Prejudice at Kansas City Repertory Theatre. Moultrie has collaborated with Tony Award-winning dancer Savion Glover and choreographed El Publico, a new opera at the world famous Teatro Real in Madrid, Spain directed by Robert Castro and Conducted by Robert Heras-Casado.
Darrell served as a choreographer on Beyoncé’s record breaking tour, the Mrs. Carter World Tour.
Moultrie is a proud New Yorker, born and raised in Harlem, and a graduate of Laguardia High School and The Juilliard School.