Jazz Island

Lighting & Sound America - Island Gods

Lighting & Sound America - Island Gods

Cuban-American choreographer Maija Garcia made her debut with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater this fall with "Jazz Island." Based on a folktale from the book "Black Gods, Green Islands," by actor-director-designer and all-around polymath Geoffery Holder, it features Erzulie, Afro-Caribbean goddess of love, intervening in the affairs of young Bashiba, who is engaged, unhappily, to a young traveling man. Supplying the jazz in "Jazz Island" is a score by Trinidadian composer and trumpeter Etienne Charles.

The New York Times - From Ailey, A New Work That's Old-School

The New York Times - From Ailey, A New Work That's Old-School

The goddess of love drifts in on waves and wind. When the choreographer Maija García was invited to make her first work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, this was the first image that came to mind. Then, a colleague directed her to “Black Gods, Green Islands,” a collection of Afro-Caribbean folklore written by Geoffrey Holder, the Trinidad-born artist, actor and dancer. The final story, “Goddess,” opens with almost the same image as the one in García’s vision. Taking this as a sign, she chose “Goddess” to adapt into dance.