Dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - Constance Stamatiou, Jacquelin Harris, and Samantha Figgins perform Cry in tribute to Judith Jamison on the Jennifer Hudson Show!
The sun sets, the moon rises and New York City is reborn. The night was a source of fascination for the choreographer Alvin Ailey. He understood its power, how bodies could soften in its shadows. It’s a time when some people “become their real selves,” he wrote in his notebooks in reference to his dance Night Creature. It’s no accident that Ailey, the subject of Edges of Ailey, a major exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, choreographed a performance to open Studio 54 in 1977.
As a retrospective opens at the Whitney Museum, New York, writers, curators and those close to the choreographer explore his vision to transform American dance
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has been performing its founder's signature work, Revelations, all over the world for 60 years. Lyndsey Winship talks to dancers past and present about the meaning and the humanity of this historic piece.
For more than 60 years, the spiritual power of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s signature work has stunned audiences including Obama. Here, company members explain what it’s like to dance a masterpiece.
I try to tell them, you have to fuel your brain and your body if your’re feeling sleepy… but what does mom know?” The day I speak with Constance Stamatiou of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, she is preparing to meet her fate. Specifically, she is preparing to meet with legendary choreographer Judith Jamison, the company’s Artistic Director Emerita, to rehearse Cry, a grueling 16-minute solo that Jamison herself originated.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company dancer continues the legacy of uplifting Black women in the arts. Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.
A career in dance is so demanding—physically and otherwise—that it can be tempting for dancers to dance, dance and only dance. It’s not uncommon to avoid other physical pursuits, whether out of fear of injury, lack of time or the now-debunked idea that certain activities build the wrong kinds of muscles. And yet, many dancers who’ve found other outlets for movement—even beyond the traditionally “dancer-approved” ones like yoga and Pilates—have found them to have a symbiotic relationship with their dance practice, each informing and growing the other. Dance Magazine spoke to four artists - including Ailey's Constance Stamatiou - with unique physical practices about what they’ve learned from them, and how they balance them with dance.
Eavesdrop pre-curtain at Bay Area dance shows and you’ll hear audience members sharing their top dance memories. High on almost everyone’s list? Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at UC Berkeley. The company first visited the campus in 1960, two years after its founding, and has come back every year since. And neither Artistic Director Robert Battle nor Cal Performances’ leader Jeremy Geffen were about to let that Bay Area bond lapse in a pandemic, so the dancers have returned virtually in a streaming program that does an astonishing job of relaying their in-person power. The performance premieres Thursday, June 10, with a digital “watch party,” and will be available for streaming through Sept. 8.
For most performing artists, the daily routine is roughly the same: rehearse, perform, rinse and repeat. But with the coronavirus shuttering live shows around the world, musicians, dancers, actors and others have had to adapt to a new reality — without an audience to prepare for. We talked to some about how they’re staying in shape and honing their craft while working from home. ‘You can’t sit still for long.’ – Constance Stamatiou, dancer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater