Nietzsche declared, "One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star." It's doubtful that the existential philosopher anticipated chaos giving birth to Dancing With the Stars, where B-listers tango for more fame. It's more likely that he would have been down with the kind of dancing stars at this weekend's Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation's AileyCamp performance.
“Now is your time to shine. Here we go, 5, 6…. 5, 6, 7, 8!” and with that Yusha-Marie Sorzano sends her AileyCamp Miami student dancers flying. They are preparing for the AileyCamp final performance in three weeks, and Yusha has them dancing fast and fierce – just as she has done on stages across the globe.
On her first day at AileyCamp last year, a 13-year-old named Mary Quintana kept her eyes down and her mouth shut.
On her first day at AileyCamp last year, a 13-year-old named Mary Quintana kept her eyes down and her mouth shut.
The speakers behind the green sofa and love seat in the sunny living room of Rosa Cruz’s Washington Heights apartment were silent as Ms. Cruz’s 10-year-old granddaughter, Maria Cruz de Leon, shyly danced.
AileyCamp, named for the country's most famous African-American dancer, offers inner-city children instruction on creative movement and a great deal more.
Something extraordinary is happening at IS 61. For the third consecutive summer, the New Brighton school is hosting AileyCamp Staten Island, a six-week program that offers 80 underprivileged children, ages 11 to 14, disciplined dance instruction in ballet, modern dance, jazz and tap as well as other perks like meals and field trips -- all free of charge.
Dozens of kids from across Miam-Dade are learning to express themselves through dance this summer taught by one of the nation's best dance companies.
Alvin Ailey used to tell his dancers, "You are all gods and goddesses," and it's just this kind of affirmation that is the organizing principle behind AileyCamp. The six-week summer camp for at-risk middle schoolers was launched by the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey in Kansas City in 1989, and since has spread across the country.
Tyrone Aiken, Executive Director of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey (KCFAA), presents the Final Performance of the 2009 AileyCamp students.