The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has graced stages across the world for 65 years. Portia discusses the history of dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey with the people who know him best. Nasha Thomas serves as the National Director of the AileyCamp and Amos Machanic Jr. teaches dance under the Ailey brand. The duo come to the table along with a few students from the AileyCamp to talk about the Alvin Ailey legacy.
Alvin Ailey was a choreographer who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958 at just 27 years old. Ailey choreographed over 100 ballets and was known to showcase the many experiences of African Americans. Today, his legacy still lives at his dance theatre in New York.
This month Ailey II will perform in Rotterdam, at the Holland Dance Festival. Almost all members of the company (named after choreographer Alvin Ailey) are of color. From the moment Van den Heuvel saw these dancers on YouTube, she wanted to be part of them.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is getting ready to celebrate its 65th anniversary season at the New York City Center on November 29. Opening night will include a special tribute to trailblazer and iconic Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison. The highly acclaimed former dancer sat down with Kemberly Richardson in a rare interview. The now 80-year-old, who is retired, is still very much involved with the dance company.
Dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey created nearly 80 ballets in his career, but none is as well-known and well-loved as Revelations. Ailey was only 29 when he created the masterpiece inspired by his experience growing up in church in the South. He used movement and music to tell a beautiful story of the despair, hope and joy of the Black experience. And it has been beloved by audiences for over 60 years.
Crain’s 2023 class of 40 Under 40 honorees includes some of the most talented young people in New York. Read on to be inspired by the professionals doing the hard work well, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Khalia Campbell.
Note: This article is presented as part of the ALL ARTS program “Alvin Ailey New Directions” by filmmaker Steven Tabakin. The eight-part digital series follows choreographers Quilan “Cue” Arnold and Maria Bauman as they work with dancers from The Ailey School as part of their New Directions Choreography Lab residencies. Here, Arnold shares further insight into his process.
The story took flight with a chance encounter at the 60th Street post office in Manhattan. It was the mid-'90s and Denise Jefferson, then head of The Ailey School, and Edward Bristow, then dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, would often bump into each other in the neighborhood. At that point, both schools were already looking for ways to expand their relationship, and Jefferson had previously floated the idea of starting a BFA program. While standing in line to buy stamps, Bristow says, their friendly chitchat set in motion an idea to form a planning committee tasked with creating a BFA program that would change the lives of scores of young dancers.
