After dance pioneer Alvin Ailey died in 1989, the future of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was uncertain. It's difficult to keep a dance company profitable after its founder is long gone - many have tried and failed. But 30 years later, the group is thriving, and decided to celebrate its 60th anniversary and founder by commissioning a new work titled Lazarus.
Philadelphia choreographer Rennie Harris was given an enormous assignment when he was asked to make a piece honoring Alvin Ailey (the man) for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 60th anniversary. But what Harris made was a masterpiece. Lazarus had its Philadelphia premiere Thursday night at the Academy of Music.
Choreographer Rennie Harris, international pioneer of street dance theater, isn't big on accepting praise. He might have to learn. Harris' latest work, Lazarus, his fourth and most recent commission for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has elicited unprecedented adulation from eminent dance critics. The piece commemorates the Alvin Ailey troupe's 60 years. It makes its Philadelphia debut Friday night and Saturday afternoon at the Academy of Music, along with Ailey's iconic Revelations.
It's very telling that, even at 60, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to break new ground. As part of its annual visit to Atlanta's Fox Theatre, the company is presenting its first ever two-part ballet, "Lazarus," in honor of the company's 60th anniversary season.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre has been creating transcendent moments for 60 years, and one of its newest voices is that of dancer and choreographer Jamar Roberts.
In the sun-soaked foyer of Atlanta's National Center for Civil and Human Rights, a tall, lean young man guided about 40 dance students last month as they learned an excerpt from Alvin Ailey's masterpiece Revelations. Christopher R. Wilson, a native of Augusta, Georgia, and a first-year member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, moved with ease and elegance between lines of young dancers, calling directions in a voice that matched the choreography's rhythm and cadence.
The New York City-based Alvin Ailey Dance Theater held a public workshop Wednesday night, giving local dancers across South Florida a chance to learn some of the company's iconic choreography.
Judith Jamison discusses Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s engagement at Atlanta’s Fox Theatre during the 60th anniversary, including the world premiere of Rennie Harris’ Lazarus.
A dinner-and-dance homage paid tribute to Alvin Ailey, as his company turns 60, at this season's opening gala in New York.
This season, Rennie Harris is Ailey's first-ever artist in residence and has created the company's first-ever two-act work.