Christopher Taylor still carries Newark with him every time he steps onto a stage. He remembers summers filled with booming house music, crowded park festivals and long days spent dancing in the middle of circles of cheering adults. “My grandmother was a house head,” he said, naming DJs and artists like Black Coffee and Kenny Bobien he heard at home. “I grew up with house music blasting all day.”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to New Jersey Performing Arts Center for Mother’s Day weekend tradition. The company, a longtime favorite of tri‑state audiences, returns for its 27th engagement as NJPAC’s Principal Resident Affiliate. The performances feature new works by Maija García, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Matthew Neenan and Jamar Roberts, along with the company premiere of Medhi Walerski’s “Blink of an Eye.” Each program closes with Alvin Ailey’s acclaimed 1960 masterpiece “Revelations.”
In 1979, a 4-year-old Matthew Neenan made his professional dance debut in Boston Ballet's "The Nutcracker" at the Wang Theater. This weekend, his first choreographed work for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater makes it Boston premiere on that same stage.
Artistic Director, Alicia Graf Mack and Choreographer, Matthew Neenan join NBC 10’s morning anchors to discuss Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s engagement in Boston and the program including the world premiere of Matthew Neenan’s Difference Between.
The Cleopatra Show’s host, Cleopatra Draper, speaks with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Renaldo Maurice about his journey in the performing arts and the Company’s engagement in Chicago.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater helped expose Chicago students to the arts at the Auditorium in the Loop. With philanthropic giving dwindling and federal grants cut, Chicago schools and those across the country are struggling to find the arts. On Thursday, hundreds of Chicago students saw a performance in-person and got a glimpse of possible careers in the arts, as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returned to the city. The mini performance at the Auditorium was much more interactive than a traditional performance. Nearly 1,500 Chicago students were asked to help cue lights and sets, and students rehearsed a few moves.
In the world of dance, communication often transcends the spoken word. It exists in the breath between steps and the intentionality of a gesture. I recently had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with two individuals who have mastered this silent language: Alicia Graf Mack, Artistic Director and Isaiah Day, Principal dancer.
WGN: Daytime Chicago’s Hosts, Tonya Francisco and Amy Rutledge sit down with Associate Director, Matthew Rushing, to talk about the upcoming engagement in Chicago at The Auditorium from April 24 – 26. Along with the interview, company members, Alisha Rena Peek and Renaldo Maurice performed an excerpt of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations and an excerpt of Frederick Earl Mosley’s Embrace.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater arrives in Boston April 30 for its annual visit, its 58th hosted by Vivo Performing Arts (formerly Celebrity Series of Boston) and its first with Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack, the fourth artist to hold this role since the company was founded 70 years ago by Alvin Ailey (1931-1989). This year’s tour presents two world premieres: “The Holy Blues” (2025), created by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar with Samantha Figgins and Chalvar Monteiro; and “Difference Between” (2025), by Boston-born and Boston Ballet School-trained choreographer Matthew Neenan. The company will perform two programs over four days and conclude each performance with Ailey’s signature masterpiece “Revelations,” an anthem to resilience and joy.
WISN’s anchor, Gerron Jordan, sits down with Constance Stamatiou to talk about the history of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the company’s tour stop in Milwaukee at the Marcus Performing Arts Center.