Sizzling physicality and technical prowess have always been attractive hallmarks of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, but when the New York-based company returns Thursday to the Sony Centre you may be surprised by what's changed since its last visit in 2008.
Since Judith Jamison's tenure at The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, the school has been regarded as a vital American "Cultural Ambassador to the World", that has practically changed forever the perception of American dance.
Imagine you're in the audience at, say, "Swan Lake," and the ballerinas you've been watching suddenly swoop over to your seat, envelop you with their wings and spirit youonstage to flutter along en pointe.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's second program in the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Theatre featured classics from the company's repertoire. The program began with "Streams," a work choreographed in 1970 by Ailey and restaged by associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya.
Both City Center and its chief tenant, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, show new faces this season. Many New Yorkers live in tiny spaces, giving us a special appreciation for the grand lobbies and vaulted ceilings of the city's great theaters.
In these glitzy numbers, you most certainly can. We asked the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Company to take the most head-turning looks of the season out for a spin - and twist, dip and twirl.
Yannick Lebrun's story, of a twenty-four year old native of French Guiana turned world-traveling Alvin Ailey dancer, is rooted in humble beginnings. His leap from studying dance at the Adaclam School in Cayenne (capital city of French Guiana) to carving out a place for himself in the award-winning Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is not a path frequently travelled.
Yannick Lebrun, from Cayenne French Guiana, began traingin in his native country at the Adaclem School under the guidance of Jeanine Verin. After graduating high school in 2004, he moved to New York City to study at The Ailey School as a fellowship student.
Fifteen years. Wow. I'm entering my 15th year as a dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater! I remember my very first tour with the Company. We embarked on a 10-week international tour, and here I am 15 years later on an international tour with the exact same length of time.
One of the world's most celebrated modern dance troupes, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, opens a six-performance run Thursday at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical theater, bringing with it two programs centered around and dedicated to "Revelations," a work choreographed by company founder Alvin Ailey half a century ago that has gone on to become, according to Dance Magazine, "the most popular modern dance piece of all time."