My relationship with dance has been defined by witnessing. It began at an early age within the vibrant walls of the dance studio. It was more than a space of movement; it was my haven, a second home sculpted by the passion of my mother—Denise Jefferson, a devoted student and teacher of Martha Graham’s technique, and eventually director at The Ailey School. She was passionately devoted to her craft.
News 4’s Checkey Beckford interviews Artistic Director of Ailey II, Francesca Harper.
This month Ailey II will perform in Rotterdam, at the Holland Dance Festival. Almost all members of the company (named after choreographer Alvin Ailey) are of color. From the moment Van den Heuvel saw these dancers on YouTube, she wanted to be part of them.
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.
NEW YORK (PIX11) – The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater has become a staple in the dance world. Its renowned second company, Ailey II will return to its home, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, for a highly anticipated annual New York season. The event will be led by Artistic Director Francesca Harper. Although in its second year, Ailey II has been around for decades. What started out as an experimental company in 1974, took on a life of its own. Their goal is to serve as a platform for the next generation of dance. Since its inception, Ailey II has been responsible for launching the careers of celebrities like Jasmine Guy, Kevin Boseman (Chadwick Boseman’s brother), Vivian Nixon (Debbie Allen’s daughter) and Ephraim Sykes. Next year, they’ll be celebrating 50 years.
The world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has made its way to Detroit, a stop along the theater’s 22-city North American tour. While in the city, the Ailey II division, the theater’s company of younger dancers and emerging choreographers, made a pit stop at the Detroit School of Arts to host a dance workshop for the students.
Miami ties run deep in the storied New York City-based Ailey II, the second company of the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ailey luminaries like current artistic director and choreographer, Robert Battle, and 2016 Bessie Award winner, Ailey dancer and choreographer, Jamar Roberts, both hail from Miami. Now in his first year, Ailey II dancer, Andrew Bryant, joins Battle and Roberts in calling both Miami and Ailey’s Manhattan studios “home.”
For Elijah Lancaster, the love of dance took root at age six. The seed was seeing Desmond Richardson perform in New York City with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. “He was on stage in a solo, in a spotlight with a chair, and the moment his leg went up, I saw the muscles,” Lancaster, now a company member at Dallas Black Dance Theatre, recounts in a recent episode of “Rising Artist.”