The Capitol Ballet: 1960s Programs

1962

19th – 20th January

• The Capitol Ballet performed twice at the Cramton Auditorium, Howard University. The company was presented by the The Howard University Faculty Women’s Club. Carmen de Lavallade performed as a guest with the company, partnered by James Truitte.

15th March

• The Capitol Ballet Guild became incorporated.

11th April

• The Capitol Ballet Company, advertised as a company of 16 dancers, performed Jerome Robbins’ Ballets: USA at the White House for President John F. Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy and the Shah and Empress of Iran.

1963

24th May 

• The Capitol Ballet Company performed at Cardozo High School with Sylvester Campbell as a guest soloist.

Late August

• Senior members of the Capitol Ballet Company appeared in a dance demonstration at Martha’s Vineyard.

End of September 

• Members of the Capitol Ballet Company appeared as guests of Arthur Mitchell at the final fall performance of the New York City Ballet (NYCB).

1964

29th May

• The Capitol Ballet Company performed at the Cramton Auditorium, Howard University.
• The repertoire included:
  • Mazurka from Suite en Blanc by Serge Lifar and Gopak by Zakharov danced by guest artist Sylvester Campbell, Royal Netherlands Ballet soloist and former student of Jones-Haywood.
  • A section from George Balanchine’s Agon performed by guest artists Arthur Mitchell and Marney Morris, from the NYCB.
  • A section from George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes performed by guest artists Arthur Mitchell and Suki Schorer, from the NYCB.
  • Members of the company also performed Color, Bach for Six and Flair for Movement all choreographed by Doris Jones.
• The cast including guest artists from the National Ballet Judith Helman and Patricia Sorrell as well as Capitol Ballet members: Beverly Brown, Donna Lowe, Lucinda Ransome, Rose-Marie Stevenson, LaVerne Ligon, Janise Turner, James Fairfax, Charles Campbell, Nokomis Jefferson, Richard McQuander, Charles Augins, Paul Queen, Daniel Sloan, and Edmere Winfield.

1965

18th June

• The Capitol Ballet Company performed at Cramton Auditorium, Howard University. The company performed with guest artists from New York City Ballet, Arthur Mitchell and Kay Mazzo who performed Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun.

1966

19th May – 20th May 

• The Capitol Ballet Company performed at Cramton Auditorium, Howard University.
• The repertoire included:
  • The premiere of Pocahontas. This ballet was choreographed by Doris Jones to a score by Elliott Carter. Set and costumes by Eugene Behlen and Aster Moore.
  • Sylvester Campbell, Royal Netherlands Ballet soloist and former student of Jones-Haywood, performed as a guest. He danced the Gopak from Taras Bulba and Pas de deux Romantique with ballerina Raven Wilkinson.
  • The evening also included the premiere of Epigrams by Arthur Mitchel as well as Ebony Concerto and Bach Variations both by Doris Jones.

1968

31st May

• The Capitol Ballet Company performed in honor of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Cramton Auditorium, Howard University.
• The repertoire included:
  • The premiere of Four Negro Spirituals, choreographed by Doris Jones. (The four songs were “You Better Mind,” “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot,” “Walk Together Children,” and “It’s Me, It’s Me, It’s Me, Oh Lord.”)
  • Collaboration by Patricia Sorrell and Llanchie Stevenson of the National Ballet of Washington with Robert Davis. The work was a collaboration between the three dancers and the companies’ directors.
  • Pocahontas was also remounted with help from a grant from the Regina and Milton Heymann Foundation. Bernard Stanley danced the role of the Medicine Man. Title role was danced by Sandra Fortune and featured dancers included Llanchie Stevenson and Virginia Johnson of the National Ballet of Washington.  The Indian Braves were danced by Nokomis Jefferson, Marc Edwards, Richard Moten and Thomas Stevens.

6th July 

• The Capitol Ballet Company performed at The Franklin Park Summer Festival, Roxbury, Boston. The following night the “Black Ballet Company from the Jones-Haywood School of Washington, D.C.” also performed. They appeared to have performed Pocahontas, choreographed by Doris Jones.

1969

27th June 

• The Capitol Ballet Company performed at the National Museum of Natural History.
• The repertoire included:
  • Asha No. 1 – to live music by the Lloyd McNeill Quartet – danced by Richard Moten and Thomas Stevens in front of a screen on which dancing figures were projected. The ballet was choreographed by Doris Jones, projection by John and Wanda Philibert and costumes by Claire Haywood.
  • The company also performed Color and Ebony Concerto – both choreographed by Doris Jones.
• Dancers included: Virginia Johnson, Sandra Fortune, Annie McBryde, Lyndell Walker, Nokomis Jefferson, Richard Moten, and Thomas Stevens.

2nd December

• Members of the Capitol Ballet Company gave a performance as part of the Winter in the Park program at Lafayette Park. Sponsored by the National Park Service.

Sources:

The Washington Post, 19th May 1963, p. G7
The Des Moines Register, 4th April 1962
The Washington Post, 19th May 1963, p. G7
The Washington Post, 22nd September 1963, p. G5
The Washington Post, 24th May 1964, p. G4
The Washington Post, 7th June 1964, p. G4
The Washington Post, 6th June 1965, p. F19
The Washington Post, 17th May 1966, p. D12
The Washington Post, 21st May 1966, p. A18
The Washington Post, 30th May 1968, p. C6
The Boston Globe, 6th July 1968, p. 10
The Boston Globe, 26th June 1968, p. 42
The Boston Globe, 7th July 1968, p. 64
The Washington Post, 27th June 1969, p. B8
The Washington Post, 30th June 1969, p. B8
Fort Lauderdale News, 3rd Dec, 1969 p. 76

Capitol Ballet and Carmen de Lavallade

Carmen de Lavallade, along with James Truitte, appeared as a guest artist with Capitol Ballet twice at the Cramton Auditorium of Howard University, performances hosted by The Howard University Faculty Women’s Club on January 19th and 20th, 1962. 

Source:

Carmen de Lavallade and the Capital [sic] Ballet Company, Ford Library Museum

Capitol Ballet and New York City Ballet

In September 1963, members of the Capitol Ballet performed as Arthur Mitchell’s guests for New York City Ballet. Through the 1960s, members of the New York City Ballet appeared as guest artists for the Capitol Ballet as well.

Source:

The Washington Post, 22nd September 1963, p. G5

Arthur Mitchell

Arthur Mitchell performed as a guest artist with Capitol Ballet on several occasions: in George Balanchine’s Agon (with Marney Morris) and Stars and Stripes (with Suki Schorer) on May 29, 1964 at the Cramton Auditorium of Howard University and in Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun (with Kay Mazzo) again at the Cramton Auditorium on June 18, 1965. Capitol Ballet premiered Mitchell’s Epigrams on May 19 and 20, 1966. In September of 1963, members of the company performed as Mitchell’s guests at a New York City Ballet performance. 

Sources:

The Washington Post, 22nd September 1963, p. G5
The Washington Post, 24th May 1964, p. G4
The Washington Post, 6th June 1965, p. F19
The Washington Post, 21st May 1966, p. A18

Suki Schorer

On May 29, 1964, Suki Schorer performed George Balanchine’s Stars and Stripes as a guest artist of Capitol Ballet with Arthur Mitchell at the Cramton Auditorium of Howard University. This program also featured Sylvester Campbell, Marney Morris, Judith Helman, and Patricia Sorrell.

Source:

The Washington Post, 24th May 1964, p. G4

Marney Morris

On May 29, 1964, Marney Morris and Arthur Mitchell appeared in George Balanchine’s Agon as guest artists with Capitol Ballet at the Cramton Auditorium of Howard University. The program also featured pieces by Serge Lifar and Doris Jones. 

Source:

The Washington Post, 24th May 1964, p. G4

Kay Mazzo

On June 18, 1965, Kay Mazzo performed alongside Arthur Mitchell in Jerome Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun as guest artists with Capitol Ballet at the Cramton Auditorium of Howard University. At other times, Mitchell appeared with fellow New York City Ballet dancers Marney Morris and Suki Schorer. 

Sources:

The Washington Post, 6th June 1965, p. F19
The Washington Post, 24th May 1964, p. G4

Capitol Ballet and Jerome Robbins

The Capitol Ballet performed several ballets by Jerome Robbins through its lifetime. On April 11, 1962, the company produced Ballets: USA for President John F. Kennedy, the First Lady, and the Shah and Empress of Iran. On June 18, 1965, Arthur Mitchell and Kay Mazzo appeared in Robbins’ Afternoon of a Faun.

Sources:

The Des Moines Register, 4th April 1962
The Washington Post, 6th June 1965, p. F19