Creole Giselle

Now, for the first time on DVD, the Dance Theatre of Harlem is presented in Creole Giselle, it's acclaimed interpretation of the ballet classic. Making only minor changes in the story, music, and traditional choreography of the repertory staple, Dance Theatre of Harlem founder Arthur Mitchell has set the ballet in 1841 Louisiana. It was a time when social status among freed blacks was measured by how far removed one's family was from slavery: the community's "aristocrats" looked down on those whose immediate family had been enslaved. Thus, in the Dance Theatre of Harlem version, Giselle faces the same social obstacles and heartbreaking rejection by Albert and his family as their classical counterparts.