Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater featured the old and the new at its opening night Wednesday. It's signature performance, "Revelations," marked its 50th anniversary and coincided with the premiere of "The Hunt," choreographed by incoming artistic director Robert Battle.
Alvin Ailey died 21 years ago, on Dec. 1, the very date that his namesake company opened its annual season at City Center this year. He would surely have been astounded and delighted to see the by-now ritualized Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater opening night: the red carpet, the photographers, the stars, the speeches, the money.
This Wednesday, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater kicks off it's holiday season at City Center in Midtown. The Theater is considered on of the world's greatest dance companies.
In her 10 years as chairman of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Inc., Joan Weill has raised $75 million for the organization's state-of-the-art building; helped to more than double its annual operating budget, to $29 million; and more than tripled the amount of funds brought in at its annual opening-night gala.
For someone who doesn't dance anymore, Judith Jamison turns up onstage with surprising frequency. That's because her colleagues at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater can't let her retire without acknowledging the key role she has played both as a flamboyant star of the 1960s and '70s and as the company's artistic director since 1989.
November 8: The presentation of the Mayor's Awards for Arts and Culture.
His biggest movie credit has been playing himself in " A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa," but Mayor Bloomberg is set to share top billing with double Oscar-winner Meryl Streep. Hizzoner will team up next Monday with the legendary actress to co-host the Mayor's Awards for Arts & Culture at Alice Tully Hall.
Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has received a National Award for Citizen Diplomacy from the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy.
Michelle Obama has often joked that she, President Obama, and their two daughters, Sasha and Malia, "live above the store." But one could also compare the White House to a beehive where, upon Mrs. Obama's encouragement, young creative talents are invited to cross-pollinate on the East Room stage.
Today, the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy anounced the seven recipients of it's 2010 National Awards for Citizen Diplomacy. Honorees are recognized for their extraordinary work to increase American citizen engagement in international affairs and their outstanding contributions in fostering cross-sultural understanding.