Dance Theatre of Harlem, one of the country’s preeminent ballet companies, has long been a beacon of innovation and excellence in professional dance and dance training. Established in 1969 to build platforms for Black ballet professionals, dance exposure for Harlem communities, and champion social justice in the arts, DTH has introduced some of ballet’s most iconic works including “the Firebird”, “Dougla”, and more recently “Return”. Under the direction of newly inaugurated Artistic Director and former DTH principal dancer Robert Garland,  DTH developed a 2023 5-year strategic plan to sharpen its national and international reach and fortify its business model in a radically changed post-COVID arts landscape.

CJAM Consulting was engaged in 2024 to facilitate a staff retreat and synthesize Year I of the strategic plan’s objectives. In this targeted work, CJAM partnered with executive staff to examine and affirm the original outcomes envisioned in the strategic plan.

Followed by one-on-one staff interviews, the retreat was a daylong session during which staff collectively deliberated on resource allocation, operational expectations, and collaborative strategies necessary for DTH’s artistic and management success. This collaboration laid the groundwork for an enlightened and generative staff retreat designed to solidify actionable strategies and areas of intersection and accountability for the 2025 fiscal year.