PROGRAMS
WaterWorks
Through WaterWorks, we provide critical support and a creative home.
WaterWorks serves as the umbrella for all Harlem Stage commissioned and produced work, which is then premiered at our venue, the Harlem Stage Gatehouse. It is designed to provide visionary artists with critical support to create new, innovative and socially significant work and engage our community through residency, humanities and educational activities over a 1-3 year period. Through WaterWorks, we serve as a creative home to artists and affirm our role as a catalyst, conduit and incubator of ideas, we also assert our position as a presenter and producer of significant work that is relevant locally, nationally and internationally.
Artists commissioned through our WaterWorks Program, include Bill T. Jones, Tania Leon, Roger Guenveur Smith, Sekou Sundiata, Deirdre Murray, Carl Hancock Rux, Vijay Iyer, Mike Ladd, Kyle Abraham, Robert Glasper, Stew, Meshell Ndegeocello, Tamar-kali, Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah and Imani Uzuri.
Music
We bring musicians and musiclovers together in celebration of the rich contributions of artists of color.
Harlem Stage has a rich tradition of presenting a full range of musical styles reflective of the Harlem community. We provide a venue for new talent, encourage new collaborations between artists of different eras and styles and explore the history of music with special musical tributes, panel discussions and educational programs. Some of the world’s most revered artists have performed on our stage, such as Ella Fitzgerald, Celia Cruz, Nancy Wilson, Abbey Lincoln, Harry Belafonte, Jessye Norman, Leontyne Price, Cassandra Wilson, Betty Carter, Geri Allen,Robert Glasper, Bilal, Roy Hargrove, Tamar-kali and Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah just to name a few.
Harlem Stage supports music through the following programming initiatives:
• WaterWorks
• Uptown Nights
• Harlem Stride
• Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concerts
• Fund for New Work
• Harlem Stage Partners
• The Frances Davis/Harlem Stage ArtsEducation Program
Dance
Our critically acclaimed signature dance series, E-Moves, has delighted audiences for nearly two decades presenting exciting collaborations by choreographers, dancers, artists and musicians.
Harlem Stage has a rich history of commissioning, developing and presenting dance. We highlight the world’s cultures and contemporary dance by artists who represent various traditions and are creating new directions.
Harlem Stage supports and presents dance through the following programming initiatives:
• E-Moves
• WaterWorks
• Fund for New Work
• Harlem Stage Partners
• The Frances Davis/Harlem Stage Arts Education Program
Film
We are proud to tell stories that need to be told.
Harlem Stage offers a provocative and innovative selection of dramatic and documentary films by emerging and select established filmmakers of color.
The films presented are rarely adequately represented in mainstream media and give voice to a new generation of talented, creative filmmakers whose work deserves notice. Their films excite, engage, inform and communicate ideas, traditions, trends and histories through stories that we can all relate to across diverse cultures, multiple generations and various technological/geographical divides. Discussions with filmmakers follow each screening.
The quality of the films, with focus and representation of emerging artists of color, has garnered acclaim and demand—from the region and nationally—as festivals and venues increasingly request the films presented by Harlem Stage for their own programs.
Harlem Stage presents film through the following programming initiatives:
• Harlem Stage Partners
• Dive Deeper
Theater
The architectural beauty of the Harlem Stage Gatehouse provides a unique and awesome theater experience.
Harlem Stage presents performances in traditional and non-traditional theater forms that speak to our Harlem community. From spoken word and performance artists exploring new forms to staged readings of new works. The opening of the Harlem Stage Gatehouse in 2006 enabled us to expand our capacity to present theater through extended play runs. In addition to commissioning new work, we have partnered with organizations such as the Classical Theatre of Harlem and Hi-Arts to continue and expand on this rich tradition.
Harlem Stage supports and presents theater through the following programming initiatives:
• WaterWorks
• Harlem Stage Partners
• Fund for New Work
Dive Deeper
Our audiences are engaged with deeper insight that extends beyond the performance.
Dive Deeper is Harlem Stage’s humanities initiative designed to give audiences the chance to interact with artists and take part in the creative process. The initiative’s components include both live and virtual activities such as open rehearsals, pre- and post-performance discussions, free films that complement and enlighten the issues presented in staged performances, online content that expands audience knowledge about artists and the creative process and much more. Dive Deeper offers the chance to expand the ‘Harlem Stage Experience,’ by illustrating Harlem Stage’s role as a catalyst, a conduit and an incubator of ideas that flow from the artistic programs we present.