Daniel Harder, one of the lead dancers in the upcoming shows of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, talks to fab about Alvin Ailey - the legendary dancer/social activist who died of AIDS - and being gay in one of the leading modern dance companies in the world.

Brian Bantugan: How long have you been with Alvin Ailey and how has it been working with them?

Daniel Harder: This is my second year with the company. It’s been absolutely wonderful. It’s been a dream of mine since I started dancing – to dance with the Ailey Company. Every day is kind of surreal for me because I’m given the chance to perform in one of the best companies in the world and to share my love of dance with audiences all over.

Who is Alvin Ailey for you?

The first word that comes to mind is “genius." He was one of the reasons why I wanted to become a dancer in the first place. The Alvin Ailey Company was the first modern dance company I had seen perform and I immediately knew that that was my home. Having had the chance to be in contact with many of the dancers who did have the chance to work with him while he was still alive, I have known  the impact he left on them, not just as dancers but also as people, his generosity, and his love for the arts. To have the chance to be part of it is wonderful.

Tell us something about the show in Toronto.

We’ll be doing several ballets. One of them is The Hunt, by our artistic director Robert Battle. We’ll be doing Streams and Revelations, which are both choreographed by Alvin Ailey. We’ll also be doing Paul Taylor’s Arden Court as well as the world premiere of the work of Rennie Harris titled Home.


What was the most challenging work among those you’ve mentioned?

The most challenging for me is Home. It’s a hip-hop ballet that deals with this group of people who are living with and are affected by HIV. You can say that I’m the lead character within the work. It’s not only physically exhausting but also emotionally exhausting as well. There are so many emotions that people with HIV would have to go through. And then having to pull myself out of that, there is light at the end of the tunnel, you can keep pushing forward and moving on. I try to make myself as vulnerable as possible when I’m onstage so that the audience can truly feel what it is that I want to share with them.

What’s it like being an openly gay dancer?

Being a gay man is just one facet of who I am as an individual. As a performer you want to bring every aspect of who you are as a person to the stage so that you can be as free as you want to be but also as generous with the audience as you want to be. That’s the beautiful thing about dance – you are a reflection of your art and your audience. People should be able to look at dance and see all types of people. Gay, straight, it doesn’t matter. You’re trying to put the audience on a journey.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs from Thurs, Feb 2, to Sat, Feb 4 at 8pm (with Saturday matinee at 2pm). Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, 1 Front St E. alvinailey.org, sonycentre.ca