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.
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.
Expanding its repertoire in an unexpected direction, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater brought power and surpassing lyricism to Paul Taylor's "Arden Court," at New York City Center, this month.
The Alvin Ailey company isn't just about "Revelations." Now artistic director Robert Battle put together a program Tuesday night of four varied works - from revivals to a recent commission - to unveil his company's changing face.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returned for its 40th season at New York City Center on Nov. 30 under a new artistic director, Robert Battle, its first since famed choreographer Judith Jamison took over following Ailey's death in 1989. Among the troupe's latest productions is Home, a hip-hop routine that celebrates people affected by HIV, appropriately set to premiere on World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.
Moving in both new and familiar ways, but always with its own distinctive elan and communicative energy - the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is back for their annual five-week City Center season.
A woman in white is roaming, searching. Slowly her movements fill each of the long, unusual, quiet chords of "The Unanswered Question," by Charles Ives. Now she advances through space; now, staying on the spot, stretching her upper body, she arches her neck up to face the sky.
Choreographer Paul Taylor, whose fabulous "Arden Court" entered the repertoire of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on opening night, Wednesday, is a national treasure. Notes in the New York City Center program claim he is the last survivor of the "pantheon" who invented modern dance.
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.