Press Coverage

December 06, 2018

The New York Times - Two Masters, Still in Heady Conversation

There aren't many people left on earth who can speak to the spirit of Alvin Ailey - not in terms of his dances or the institution he created, but the man. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrates its 60th anniversary this season and along with that, the work of another choreographer who mercifully is on earth right now: Ronald K. Brown. Through his dances, he speaks to the spirit of Ailey, and for nearly 20 years now he has enriched Ailey's company with unaffected, soulful choreography that gives its dancers dimension and depth.

December 05, 2018

Metro Focus - Tonight on Metro Focus: Alvin Ailey Anniversary

We celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, a jewel in Manhattan’s artistic crown.

December 04, 2018

Newsweek - Alvin Ailey 60th Year Celebration: Judith Jamison, Robert Battle And More Honor The Legacy Of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

When Alvin Ailey set out to start his own dance company in New York City in 1958, he likely had no idea his passion and call to dance would result in a nearly 85,000-square-foot performance center bearing his name and thousands of students entering its doors day after day, while company dancers traveled to perform his choreography on stages around the globe. He certainly couldn't have known his effort to create a safe and esteemed place for dancers from all walks of life would extend well past his 1989 death, some 30 years.

December 03, 2018

Fordham News - Ailey/Fordham Alumnus Joins Alvin Ailey American Dance Company

When Christopher Wilson, FCLC ’17, found out that he had made the company of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, he immediately called his mother, who screamed and dropped the phone. “It took, like, a good two minutes for her to come back to me, so I just sort of sat there, just listening to her, and I was also crying at the same time,” he said.

December 03, 2018

Financial Times - The Nightmarish And The Exhilarating Meet In Rennie Harris's 'Lazarus'

In Lazarus — the stunning finale to Rennie Harris’s dark trilogy for the Ailey company — a cluster of dancers sways on their toes, heads cocked as if their necks had been broken by hanging. Others roll forward like corpses carried away on the tide. In a recurring motif that evokes the Pietà, one person gently drags another, collapsed in his arms, across the stage. This is the “strange fruit” of African-American history. When the dancers pray, they shake their clasped hands like gamblers desperate for a lucky roll.

December 03, 2018

The New York Times - Asking Questions, With Ailey In Mind

For Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to have lasted 60 years is an unlikely feat. Even more extraordinary: Almost half that span has elapsed since the death of Alvin Ailey. How has the company survived? How has it persevered the spirit of its founder? At the start of its program at New York City Center on Friday, the troupe offered rote answers to those entwined questions in the form of "Becoming Ailey," an anniversary slide show of old photos and footage that tried to bring Ailey into the theater by projecting his image on a scrim.

December 02, 2018

The New York Times - Homage To Ailey As His Company Turns 60

As a master choreographer, Rennie Harris knows a thing or two about himself. He doesn't gravitate toward making works about a particular topic. And he doesn't plan his dances in advance. "The movement tells you what the piece is going to be," said Mr. Harris, a Philadelphia native who has deftly Brough hip-hop and street dance to the concert stage. "You close your eyes and see if you feel something. Maybe it's music - or maybe you've read something and a story starts to unfold in your head. That's what I often look for: That story. You create the movement and all of a sudden as they're doing it, you see the next movement."

December 02, 2018

New York Times - A Dance Homage To Alvin Ailey As His Company Turns 60

As a master choreographer, Rennie Harris knows a thing or two about himself. He doesn't gravitate toward making works about a particular topic. And he doesn't plan his dances in advance. "The movement tells you what the piece is going to be," said Mr. Harris, a Philadelphia native who has deftly brought hip-hop and street dance to the concert stage.

December 01, 2018

New York 1 News - Spotlight NY: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Ruschell Boone looks at the history of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with current and former artistic directors Robert Battle and Judith Jamison. They also discuss the 60th season, which is having performances at New York City Center through December 30th.

November 30, 2018

New York 1 News - Spotlight NY: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Ruschell Boone looks at the history of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with current and former artistic directors Robert Battle and Judith Jamison. They also discuss the 60th season, which is having performances at New York City Center through December 30th.

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