When New York City choreographer Dwight Rhoden first met Charleston composer Edward Hart to discuss a new work, they did so with ankles deep in Charleston water.
That new work is Dark Water, co-commissioned by Charleston Gaillard Center and Charleston Symphony, and set for its world premiere on March 6 and 7 at Charleston Gaillard Center.
Water is, after all, the region’s trademark, and it inspired the artistic collaboration. Dark Water is a new ballet by Rhoden for the New York-based Complexions Contemporary Ballet, where he serves as co-founding artistic director. It features an original composition by Hart.
An artistic immersion in what Hart views as the Lowcountry’s most defining element, its mysterious, murky water, the work is a journey in movement and sound and spectacle structured in five movements that wend through the harbors, swamps, tidal creeks, rice fields and shoreline that are emblematic of the Lowcountry.
In the beginning
When they first teamed up, Hart guided Rhoden to the watery places that drove his stirring, evocative notes: At Caw Caw Interpretive Center in Ravenel, they took in the cypress swamp and flooded rice fields. At Mosquito Beach on James Island, they witnessed tidal creeks. And on Folly Beach they bathed in its foamy, dense spray.
“He wanted to put his feet in the water, and we did,” recalled Hart.
a ballet | Provided
Rushing or roiling or rippling, in these parts, the water is dark. That metaphorical resonance compelled the composer to delve into its depths, following its capricious course and its frequently fraught past and present.
“Whether it’s the pluff mud or the tannins to make black water, dark water literally holds secrets because you can’t see your feet when you stand in the beach in July,” Hart said.
More dance
The production furthers Gaillard’s ongoing dance initiative. Launched in 2021, it has presented performances by renowned companies including American Ballet Theater, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Mark Morris Dance Group, as well as the Gaillard’s first dance commission, Sounds of Hazel by Dance Theatre of Harlem.
Lissa Frenkel, president and CEO of Charleston Gaillard Center, said the work was intentionally timed to the center’s 10-year anniversary, to build on the initiatives, and “elevating stories that are relevant for our community and providing energy for the ecology of creating new work in the nation.”
Frenkel determined that Dark Water can achieve these objectives. At the Gaillard, the program will also include a repertory work by Rhoden for Complexions.
“I think you will feel in the music the presence of Charleston,” she said.
A new work springs
To jumpstart the project, Hart, who grew up traversing these waterways, first broached Frenkel and Michael Smith, CEO of the Charleston Symphony.
At the time he had not written a note, but his aim was to compose a work intended for a ballet, determining that dance would further his artistic exploration of water, and express the ineffable. Frenkel and Smith agreed.
“Dance can be similar to music in its abstract nature,”
Hart said.
For Rhoden, who was approached by Frenkel, it was a no-brainer.
“We always want new work. It’s what we live for,” he said. “And then I heard
the music.”
The choreography has always been drawn to a full orchestra piece, which Hart’s work involves. In its premiere, the work will involve 65 Charleston Symphony musicians and 16 dancers.
Hart, who has composed full orchestral works for Charleston Symphony, has long tapped into the rhythms and themes of his native South Carolina, among them his ambitious, sweeping A Charleston Concerto.
And there’s spectacle, too. The production includes projection designer Greg Emetaz, who previously designed the media for the Metropolitan Opera’s acclaimed production of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones as well as Thais at Spoleto Festival USA in 2025.
Fluid collaboration
The project has also deepened an established partnership between Charleston Gaillard Center and the Charleston Symphony, its resident orchestra that has in recent years shared administrative resources.
Smith said that Dark Water enables the two organizations to “share vision,” realizing works that they could not do individually.
“What are the Charleston stories that we can tell through Charleston artists that really resonate here?” he offered, exploring stories through commissioned work.
Hart’s composition alone is a serious proposition for Charleston Symphony, with its large orchestra to be conducted by Ming Luke, music director and principal conductor for the Nashville Ballet. The musicians began the project around a year and a half ago, recording it for Rhoden’s team to start choreography.
The collaboration between choreographer and composer has been fluid, too.
Rhoden sensed a kinship in how Hart made the music and his approach to choreography. The two artists have been in frequent contact throughout the process, with Hart attending rehearsals in New York City, talking with the dancers and explaining the inspiration behind each movement.
“I think I’m attracted to it because of the complexity of it,” Rhoden said. “It’s very complex in terms of the melodic lines; it’s just really entangled. It’s beautiful, but there’s a beautiful structure and organization to it that I respond to as well.”
The resulting work will leverage Complexions’ athleticism and artistry to explore both the natural landscapes and layered histories of South Carolina’s coast, while also mining themes of time, memory and the human impact on the environment.
“Tension is the best word I can think of within the entire score,” said Rhoden. “You’re going to feel push and pull.”
Hope springs, too
While Dark Water often grapples with its subject’s inherent complexity–its tragic past and perilous future–both artists find cause for hope.
“What I feel with this piece is a love for a country, water, the history,” said Rhoden. “I feel like you’re going to walk away with a love for South Carolina and the Charleston area and a pride in the beautiful nature.”
The work will also radiate far beyond its Charleston shores, through Complexions’ tours.
Frenkel noted that the music Hart created is universal. For that reason, the team deliberately engaged a national company so the work could continue to live outside of Charleston, and amplify some of the themes it celebrates.
“We have so much potential to grow our cultural voice because people realize that as we tell these stories, they really are universal stories, and they really do allow us to embroider the American experience.”
IF YOU WANT TO GO: Dark Water will take place at 7:30 p.m. March 6 and 7 at Charleston Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun St. There will be a pre-show conversation at 6 p.m. March 6. More: gaillardcenter.org
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