Forget Valentine’s Day (and your hopeless attempt to secure a restaurant reservation this late). February is also Black History Month, and for many Atlanta dance goers, it is synonymous with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Year after year, the company packs the house, attracting groupies, first-timers and everyone in between.
Fox Theatre performances include world premieres and repertory works. Robert Battle was four years into his artistic directorship of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and still he sometimes questioned whether or not he belonged there.
"Survivors” was made in 1986 response to Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment, but it’s a “universal statement about injustice.” In 1986, revered Black American choreographer Alvin Ailey made a ferocious protest work in response to Nelson Mandela’s more than two decades of imprisonment under the heel of South Africa’s apartheid government.
In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company members Khalia Campbell, Jacquelin Harris and Solomon Dumas perform an excerpt of Wade in the Water apart of Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece, Revelations on Live with Kelly & Ryan.
NEW YORK -- The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's holiday engagement is now underway at New York City Center. From now until Dec. 24, you can catch 10 works created by founder Alvin Ailey. But a new piece called "Busk" choreographed by Aszure Barton includes a Bronx native in a featured role. Featured dancer Khalia Campbell joined CBS2 to discuss the show and her passion for dance.
At Kyle Abraham’s premiere for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center, dancers find intimacy in songs by Erykah Badu and Jazmine Sullivan. The choreographer Kyle Abraham knows how to make a playlist. His third work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, “Are You in Your Feelings?,” which had its premiere on Friday as part of the company’s annual New York City Center season, unfurls to an R&B, soul and hip-hop compilation of thoroughly danceable songs about love and relationships.
Survivors’ has new resonance in a period of widespread protests. As Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to New York for its winter season, it will perform Revelations, of course, as well as a world premiere from in-demand choreographer Kyle Abraham. But it will also feature a work that has not been seen for more than 30 years: a wrenching tribute to Nelson and Winnie Mandela titled Survivors.
Renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey started his namesake dance company back in 1958, and his work has remained timeless over the decades. Whether it’s the joyous celebration of Night Creature, the playful Pas de Duke, or his most revered masterpiece, Revelations, his work can be a transcendent experience that has filled the hearts and souls of audiences around the globe.
Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations” is back in the flesh — and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is dancing it as rousingly as ever. If you’ve never seen “Revelations,” or haven’t gotten a dose in a few years, make haste to the Ailey company’s current run at UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances, where this eternal and indestructible 1960 classic is slated to cap every program (there are five of them) on offer through Sunday, April 3. And brace yourself; as one longtime fan was heard telling a newcomer on opening night Thursday, March 29, “You’re about to go to church.”
Twenty-five years is a long time to be involved in any discipline. Now imagine having to be in prime physical shape all that time—on the level of an elite athlete. Vernard Gilmore, who grew up in Chicago, has been with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for a quarter-century. He began his training at Curie Performing and Creative Arts High School before studying at the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater and then moving to New York City. Gilmore is currently featured in Alvin Ailey's solo "Reflections in D" and takes center stage in other classics such as Revelations and Blues Suite. Gilmore, who's openly gay, recently talked with Windy City Times about Alvin Ailey, the evolution of dance, the Ailey documentary and his own feelings during the past two years that have challenged everyone.