Before becoming a founding member of Dance Theatre of Harlem, Derek Williams was a member of the Jamaican National Dance Theatre.

He performed alongside the rest of DTH at their official debut at the Guggenheim Museum in 1971 as well as their 1970 Jacob’s Pillow performance.

Williams was a part of the original DTH casts of Arthur Mitchell’s Ode to Otis (1969) and Spiritual Suite (1970), George Balanchine’s Agon (1971), Louis Johnson’s Forces of Rhythm (1971) and Wings (1974), Vakhtang Chabukiani’s Laurencia Pas de Six (1972), and Milko Sparemblek’s Ancient Voices of Children (1973).

His other repertoire included the role of Alexandre de la Cour in Creole Giselle and Walter Raines’ Haiku, among others.

Sources:

Harlem Dance Theater Scores London Triumph, The New York Times
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