Press Coverage

June 29, 2020

CBS New York - All These Years Later, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Continues Spreading Message Of Inclusion

While protests across the country call for racial justice, an organization in New York City has been spreading a message of inclusion for decades. And they’ve been doing it through dance. CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis has more on the work of Alvin Ailey. A powerful video was created in the midst of protests, following the death of George Floyd. It featured poetry, paired with a universal language, which at times, says more than words. “We. Dance.” by Hope Boykin. “This was my form of protest. This was the way that I could say it best to honor the organization that had started doing this more than 60 years ago,” Boykin said.

June 22, 2020

The New Yorker - Solo Acts

...At the end of May, in a commission from the Guggenheim’s “Works & Process” series, Jamar Roberts produced an extraordinary five-minute dance titled “Cooped.” He choreographed, designed, directed, performed, and shot (on an iPad) this “fever dream,” alone, in a basement, surrounded by shadows that seem to close in on him—an effect ingeniously created by a floor lamp and a flashlight. The tense music was composed, arranged, and performed (remotely) by David Watson (bagpipes) and Tony Buck (drums).

June 17, 2020

The Fordham Observer - Dancing Queen: Courtney Celeste Spears' Journey From Artists To Businesswoman

Dancer, actress, model, writer, entrepreneur, teacher and now businesswoman: Courtney Celeste Spears, Fordham College at Lincoln Center '16, is a master at turning her dreams into reality and is determined to use her platform to change the world.

June 12, 2020

Vogue - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Hosted Its Spirit Gala Online — And You Can Watch It Through June 18

This spring has seen ballet leap into the digital world... Hosted last night on YouTube, the night raised funds for the Ailey company as well as the Equal Justice Initiative (a non-profit organization providing legal representation to the wrongly convicted and the disadvantaged). The night would bring a world premiere, archival footage of one of Mr. Ailey’s first-ever performances, and an expanded reimagining of Revelations. With cameos and kind words delivered by Ailey fans like Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom, Jr., Timothy Shriver (whose own daughter was student at The Ailey School), Angela Bassett, and more, it was a celebration of the dance company’s rich history and a moment of much-needed togetherness in honor of Black Lives Matter.

June 03, 2020

The Wall Street Journal - 'Revelations' For Trying Times

Since 2013, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has appeared annually at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater. This year is the exception, somewhat. As part of its Ailey All Access series of online presentations, begun March 30 in the wake of the pandemic, the troupe has been working on ways to still offer a June season of a sort. Before the theater shutdown, live performances had been scheduled for June 10 to 14. Instead, starting this Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT, viewers at home will be able to stream a four-part mixed bill, performed on the Koch stage, the was filmed in 2015.

June 02, 2020

The New York Times - A Dance About The State Of Emergency We're In

When Jamar Roberts, the resident choreographer of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, got a call from Works & Process at the Guggenheim Museum inviting him to contribute a video, he had been sheltering for a few weeks in a friend’s basement outside New York, not dancing or feeling at all inspired to dance. Since the museum closed, Works & Process, a long-running performance series, has been commissioning its alumni to make videos no longer than five minutes. Each Sunday and Monday, another installment is posted on YouTube. The playlist now includes more than a dozen, with dozens more on the way.

May 26, 2020

Spectrum News Charlotte - Ailey All Access

Now you can enjoy dancing virtually, thanks to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Here to speak with us today about Ailey All Access is Ailey dancer and Charlotte native Jacquelin Harris.

May 05, 2020

QC Life - Ailey All Access Provides Online Performances, Dances And More

The world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is bringing the Ailey experience to you, at home. The virtual experience is called Ailey All Access. It is designed to provide families around the globe with joy and inspiration during this difficult moment in time. Jacquelin Harris, a Charlotte native and Alvin Ailey Company member, says dance enthusiasts and novices alike can take virtual classes and indulge in full length Alvin Ailey performances. This week, Ailey All Access will offer the historic 1972 video of Judith Jamison performing Alvin Ailey’s Cry. Ailey All Access is free and available online.

May 05, 2020

Dance Spirit - Jamar Roberts Writes A Letter To His Teenage Self

Jamar Roberts is an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater icon. He's danced with the company for more than 15 years, and at 6' 4", he cuts a powerful and immediately recognizable figure onstage. As a choreographer, he is prolific, passionate, and political—his most recent, instantly iconic piece for Ailey, Ode, is a meditation on the fragility of life in the age of gun violence. Though several of Roberts' planned premieres have been postponed because of the COVID-19 outbreak, we can't wait to see his works performed again.

April 07, 2020

ABC2 Midday Maryland: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Offers Ailey All Access

The Ailey organization manifests founder Alvin Ailey’s belief that “dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people” with Ailey All Access, a series of digital dance offerings including online streaming of performances, dance and fitness classes, educational programs and original short films created by the Ailey dancers.

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