When Jacqueline Green's mom encouraged her to audition for the dance program at Baltimore School for the Arts, she did - on a whim. By pure serendipity, she was accepted.
Hailed as an international ambassador for African-American culture, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, founded in 1958, begins its 27-city North American tour in Toronto under the new direction of Robert Battle.
One of Robert Battle's first dance memories involves moving to the song That's Entertainment. Little did he know how prophetic that title was.
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.
Since Judith Jamison's tenure at The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, the school has been regarded as a vital American "Cultural Ambassador to the World", that has practically changed forever the perception of American dance.
Besides supplying its parent company with fresh blood, Ailey II, the training and outreach scion of the great Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, is charged with taking Ailey repertory to audiences in smaller cities like Birmingham and Chattanooga.
The executive director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation will step down in 2013, ending a 16-year run in which she oversaw significant growth, the organization said Wednesday.
Ailey II opened their two-night Bermuda Festival run with a delightful programme of brilliantly choreographed and tightly executed modern dance masterpieces. The young performers who comprised the cast exhibited abundant technical excellence and rich reserves of energy throughout the performance.
Sylvia Waters had no intention of leading a dance company but the legendary Alvin Ailey saw a passion in her that he would not allow the world to pass by. Some 35 years ago, the late American choreographer and activist invited Waters to launch Ailey II — the junior company to his school and it has since has grown into an international success story.
Attending Indian weddings and ending up the night sweaty and tired from hours of bhangra dancing have been regular parts of my weekend repertory since I was a child. The catchy music can entice even the most die-hard wallflower to move.