Alvin Ailey was a choreographer who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958 at just 27 years old. Ailey choreographed over 100 ballets and was known to showcase the many experiences of African Americans. Today, his legacy still lives at his dance theatre in New York.
Crain’s 2023 class of 40 Under 40 honorees includes some of the most talented young people in New York. Read on to be inspired by the professionals doing the hard work well, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Khalia Campbell.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has been performing its founder's signature work, Revelations, all over the world for 60 years. Lyndsey Winship talks to dancers past and present about the meaning and the humanity of this historic piece.
For more than 60 years, the spiritual power of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s signature work has stunned audiences including Obama. Here, company members explain what it’s like to dance a masterpiece.
As De’Anthony Vaughan concludes another long day at dance rehearsal, he navigates his way through the bright lights, bustling crowds and honking horns of New York City. One thing is for sure, he is not on Vine Street anymore. For many of us, working at our dream job is a far-off fantasy; for Vaughan, his lifelong ambition of becoming a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater became a reality earlier this month. “I was ecstatic. I am still in shock. I was overwhelmed, but I am still so happy,” says Vaughan, a Kansas City native. “My family is more excited than me. I feel like I was still processing it and they were crying and happy because everyone knows it has always been a dream of mine.”
Christopher Taylor will soon perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, New Jersey, as part of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s annual season at the vaunted Garden State venue. For Taylor, the performance will be something of a homecoming because he’s originally from Newark, and he actually started his dance career in AileyCamp Newark’s summer program. He rose through the ranks, joining The Ailey School Junior Division, The Ailey School Professional Division and Ailey II, before making the jump (literally and figuratively) to the main company, according to his biography.
A pirouette isn’t the only full circle happening in Chalvar Monteiro’s life. When the Montclair High School graduate was 12 years old, he saw the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. It was a life-changing moment for him.
Patrick Coker sat mesmerized in a cushy chair in an audience watching the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform. The 12-year- old saw a celebration of the human experience in those dancers’ movements. Struck by their beauty, he had never felt such awe. The feeling soon turned into longing and a revelation. He knew what he wanted for his future: to be an Alvin Ailey dancer on the stage, instead of in his seat. And although it took a little over 12 more years to achieve, Coker will perform in Hampton Roads this week as a member of Alvin Ailey.
Meet Chalvar Monteiro. At what age did you decide you will dedicate your life to the art of dance? My desire to be a professional dancer was first initiated after the Ailey company performed in New Jersey when I was in high school, around 2003. Shortly after, when I was introduced to the breadth of modern and contemporary practices, I knew dancing and creating would forever be a part of my rhythm.
Routine is a big part of Deidre Rogan’s life as a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. As a dancer, her life revolves around them. One of her favorites happens to be the 10 minutes of hip stretches she does daily, typically two or three times per day, and always as part of her morning routine. “I really see my stretching time as my me-time, too,” says Rogan. “You know, just a moment to check in with myself and feel centered.”