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The “DSU Harlem Renaissance” to be performed Nov. 17-21
Monday, November 9, 2009
Major African American figures in the music, literature and the arts of the 1920s will come to life as the University’s Theater and Dance Program presents the “DSU Harlem Renaissance during a series of performances Nov. 17-21.
There will be daytime presentations on Tuesday thru Thursday, Nov. 17-19 as well as evening performances on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21 all taking place at the Education and Humanities Building.
All performances are free and open to the public. The DSU Harlem Renaissance will include
- At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 and at 12 noon Thursday, Nov. 19, major figures such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Marcus Garvey, Claude McKay, A’Leatha Walker and others will be portrayed in performances in the first floor lobby of the Education and Humanities Building.
- At 11 a.m. Wednesday Nov. 18, renowned portrait painter Simmie Knox will give a presentation on his career and show some of the famous figures that he has painted. Mr. Knox, who attended Delaware State College 1961 and 1962, painted the official White House portrait of former President Bill Clinton. This presentation will take place in the Education and Humanities Theatre.
- At 8 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20-21, The DSU Harlem Renaissance will shift to a series of dance and music performances that will reenact the famous Cotton Club and how it provided a high profile venue for the orchestras of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway. The “rent parties” that took place frequently in Harlem, which served as a venue for performer such as Fats Waller will also be reenacted..
The DSU Harlem Renaissance will be performed by University students and community performers. The production is directed by Don Blakey, who is also the director of the DSU Theater and Dance Program. Denver Shockley is the choreographer and Randolph Johnson, DSU band director, is the director of the orchestra that will performed during the Nov. 20-21 productions.