When Alvin Ailey and a small group of African-American modern dancers first took the stage at the 92nd Street Y in 1958, it was groundbreaking and revolutionary. Revelations captured the agony and triumphs of the African American experiences. Now six decades later, his multi-cultural dance company is still charting a new course in its 60th season at City Center.
We celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, a jewel in Manhattan’s artistic crown.
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.
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."
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.
The modern dance company is celebrating its 60th anniversary season and is more timely than ever, says artistic director Robert Battle. In tumultuous times like these, dance is a powerful antidote. After a year of touring and other celebratory initiatives, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is closing out its 60th anniversary season at home in New York with a slate of programming that celebrates its past, present and future.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was born out of the civil rights movement and has continued celebrating the African American experience for 60 years. Hard Sreenivasan sits down with its artistic director, Robert Battle.
THE BRONX - The prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's AileyCamp is celebrating its 30th anniversary. About 1,000 kids citywide are participating in the weekslong, free summer program to learn the art of different types of dance, including ballet, modern, jazz and West African. The kids will get to show off what they learned with a performance next month at the Hostos Center for the Arts & Culture. This year marks 60 years since the dance company was founded. AileyCamp was the last foundation created by Ailey before his death in 1989. Organizers say the camp is made possible by funding through Children’s Aid.
Campers in Miami are learning a variety of artistic talents this summer that will help them learn about themselves. AileyCamp teaches students West African dance to modern dance, as well as poetry and life skills. Each year only 110 students are chosen, out of hundreds of Miami-Dade students ages 11 to 14 who apply.
Tamara Best has long loved Alvin Ailey's dance company- and so she leapt at the opportunity to learn on of its seminal pieces on a sunny evening at New York's Lincoln Center.