The modern dance company is celebrating its 60th anniversary season and is more timely than ever, says artistic director Robert Battle. In tumultuous times like these, dance is a powerful antidote. After a year of touring and other celebratory initiatives, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is closing out its 60th anniversary season at home in New York with a slate of programming that celebrates its past, present and future.
The dance legend who inspired some of Alvin Ailey's most iconic choreography is guiding a rising star to follow her actual footsteps. Judith Jamison met Ailey in a stairwell after bombing an audition in 1965, when she was 22. But that first misstep leg to a 50-year career after Ailey invited her to join his new Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which was showcasing black modern dancers just as the civil rights movement was also hitting its stride.
Ailey celebrates its 60th anniversary season with plenty of Ailey classics, along with some enticing premieres: "Lazarus," a two-act work by the powerful hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris, is inspired by the life and legacy of Ailey and by racial inequities faced in 1958 and today. The other is by the great contemporary choreographer Ronald K. Brown, who mixes modern and African dance in "The Call." The season also includes a new production of Robert Battle's "Juba," his first dance for the company, from 2003...
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Performances and Speeches at 2018 BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Watch Judith Jamison speak on the purpose of dance, Judith Jamison's acceptance speech and her own take on black girl magic, and Jacqueline Green perform Judith Jamison's iconic solo "Cry" featuring vocals by Yolanda Adams.
Memories, spirituality, and love encircle Choreographer Jessica Lang's EN, a Japanese word meaning fate, karma, and destiny. In her interview with the Dance Enthusiast, Lang highlights EN as a. journey celebrating her husband, Kanji Segawa, and her intimate connection with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater dancer and choreographer Jamar Roberts talks about his love for choreography, working with Ailey dancers, and the inspiration for his new piece, Members Don't Get Weary, premiering at the company's 20th annual Mother's Day Engagement at NJPAC.
In 2016, during the U.S. presidential elections, world-class dancer Jamar Roberts was on a European tour. He said that everywhere he went, people seemed to be musing over the controversial political scenario. “It seemed like the whole world was watching for the outcome,” he said, “and sharing the same feelings of anxiety and uncertainty as to its and impact on everyone.” Roberts, a Miami native, processes that tumultuous moment through physical language. It was in that context that his choreography debut for the Alvin Ailey American Theater emerged. “Members Don’t Get Weary” is an artistic portrait and meditation on the current American social landscape, it speaks to a mix of worries about the economy, social injustice and violence.
Seeing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for the first time is a rite of passage for anyone who loves dance (and for plenty of people who didn't know they did). Jamar Roberts first saw the company perform in Fort Lauderdale when he was a kid growing up in South Dade. Like so many of us, the first Ailey dance that swept him away was "Revelations," and for him, it was specifically the "Sinner Man" section. He's told he cried, though he doesn't remember that.
Alvin Ailey troupe revives classic work during run at the Fox. The sidewalks around the former Peachtree-Pine homeless shelter are now empty, but a few blocks up Peachtree Street, near the Fox Theatre, a woman is sometimes seen hundred in dirty blankets, sleeping on the sidewalk or staring into space. She's a reminder that "Shelter," choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's 1988 work on homelessness, remains relevant. The sign of people living on the streets troubled Zollar 38 years ago, when she first moved to New York City.
In honor of Black History Month, we spoke with Alvin Ailey stars Constance Stamatiou and Jamar Roberts on what it means to be performers of color in the dance world. Hear about their upbringing, obstacles they've faced in the industry, and what being part of a renowned African American dance company means to them. All performed over a riveting rendition of "Fix Me Jesus" from Alvin Ailey's Revelations.