A wonderful survival from the Glasnost era.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem was “the first African American ballet school and company to bring African American ballet dancers to worldwide prominence” (Thompson). Indeed, it was the first US company invited to tour the Soviet Union under Michail Gorbachev’s new approach to international relations and cultural exchange. During the five-week tour, the company’s visit to Moscow was widely covered in the international press and was received with considerable enthusiasm. It formed part of a broader program of artistic diplomacy, bringing an African American ballet troupe to Soviet audiences and contributing to cross-cultural dialogue in the performing arts.
The performance is promoted and celebrated by this striking poster, designed by the graphic artist and illustrator, Vitaly Evgenievich Volf (b. 1930s). He was educated at the Moscow Secondary Art School (1946–1953) and later at the V. I. Surikov Moscow State Art Institute (1959 - 1963) under B. A. Dekhterev. Volf worked extensively in applied graphics, producing posters and designs for institutions such as Reklamfilm, Goskontsert, and Eksportfilm, as well as for major publishing houses including Iskusstvo, Meditsina, and Mir. From the 1960s onward, he regularly participated in All-Union and international exhibitions of poster art, and his works are today held in major museum collections, including the State Central Museum of Cinema and the Bakhrushin State Central Theater Museum.
Seven years’ prior, the Dance Theatre of Harlem was the first Black ballet company to perform at Covent Garden’s Royal Opera House. Furthermore, in 1992, the company performed to integrated audiences in South Africa.
Apparently printed in an edition of 900, this poster is rare with no copies listed on OCLC.
Thompson, E.L., “Dance Theatre of Harlem” in Finkelman, P., ed, Encyclopedia of African American History (OUP, 2009), p.10.
