Yannick Lebrun is the principal dancer of the Alvin Ailey company, a pioneer of African American dance since 1958. The artist shines on the stage of the Palais des Congrès in Paris in a series of iconic ballets from this company with a unique identity in the world.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Paris from October 7th to 11th at the Palais des Congrès . This provides an opportunity for another conversation with Yannick Lebrun, the French dancer with the American company . How has the company evolved since the Covid pandemic and the arrival of its new artistic director, Alicia Graf Mack, in 2025? How does the dancer see himself now within the company, having joined almost 20 years ago? What are his thoughts on the ballets in this tour, from the iconic Revelations to the new pieces? An encounter with a dancer who champions the Alvin Ailey legacy with unwavering passion.
A meeting with Yannick Lebrun, a French dancer with the American Alvin Ailey company. We first met him in 2017. With a sculptural physique, bare chest, and coffee-colored skin splashed with paint, Yannick Lebrun looked like a work of art. Photographed mid-leap in this manner, the Frenchman became the face of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on all its posters. Today, the artist hasn't aged a day. His aesthetic appeal, talent, and physique remain dedicated to the troupe founded by the famous Black American choreographer. At 39, Yannick has become an indispensable member—one of the most experienced bearers of the company's legacy. "I’ve gained maturity," he explains, "and self-confidence. Perfection doesn't exist, but by learning to let go, I’ve adopted a freer approach to movement that allows me to convey more emotion."
In 1931, construction began on Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan—the beginning of a city within the city. That year, groundbreaking dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey was born in Rogers, Texas. With “Rise,” the first-ever dance film anchored in the New York City landmark, the work of Alvin Ailey soars across Rockefeller Center, from its storied observation level to the gilded sculpture of Prometheus and even the elevated gardens of Radio Park. In the short, seven dancers, styled in looks from New York designers like LUAR and Collina Strada, translate signature Ailey choreography to “Baddy on the Floor,” a rousing sonic collaboration between Jamie xx and Honey Dijon.
Artistic Director, Alicia Graf Mack speaks to Good Day New York about her inaugural season with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center. Ailey dancer, Yannick Lebrun performs Alvin Ailey’s A Song for You, in anticipation of the season.
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.
Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations” is back in the flesh — and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is dancing it as rousingly as ever. If you’ve never seen “Revelations,” or haven’t gotten a dose in a few years, make haste to the Ailey company’s current run at UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances, where this eternal and indestructible 1960 classic is slated to cap every program (there are five of them) on offer through Sunday, April 3. And brace yourself; as one longtime fan was heard telling a newcomer on opening night Thursday, March 29, “You’re about to go to church.”
When sportswear brand Champion approached artist Tremaine Emory, aka Denim Tears, to collaborate on a new line, Emory looked to none other than Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for inspiration. To promote the launch of the resulting capsule collection, Ailey's own Samantha Figgins and Yannick Lebrun took over the Queens Museum for a short film, activating the empty space with their dancing. Directed by Taylour Paige, this video features gorgeous shots of the two dancers bringing the designs to life.
"He’s just as important as Michael Jordan,” said Tremaine Emory. Emory was referring to Alvin Ailey, the Black activist and choreographer who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958, when Black stories weren’t being told onstage through modern dance. His name isn’t as familiar as Michael Jordan’s, but his impact is far reaching. Ailey passed more than three decades ago, but his name still lives on through the dance company that he founded and the work he contributed. In 1960 he produced “Revelations,” a piece that tells the story of African American culture from slavery to freedom, and is still being performed by his company today. Emory, the designer behind Denim Tears, wanted to honor that with his newest project, an apparel collection called Cry/Revelations that was produced by Champion. Emory said Champion approached him about a collaboration and he immediately knew he wanted to do something connected to Alvin Ailey.
In our third episode of The Freedom to Be video series, timed to coincide with #NationalDanceDay today (Sept. 18), we spotlight the Black dance community in NYC. Choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey founded his namesake company in 1958 to bring African American dance to all corners of the US—and, eventually, the world. The dance theater, which forged a space for Black creatives in times and places where it often didn’t exist, is now a fixture of New York City culture. Meet two dancers from the troupe, Yannick Lebrun and Caroline Dartey, who emigrated from French Guiana and Switzerland, respectively, to pursue their dreams. Lebrun has been with the company for almost 15 years, while Dartey is just starting her journey. Both enjoy the sense of community and freedom of expression they’ve found at Alvin Ailey.