Expressions of Pride take many forms. Kemberly Richardson introduces us to Alvin Ailey dancer Chalvar Monteiro who exudes pride in performance and choreography for his new work premiering at the Ailey Spring Gala.
On Thursday, June 24, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater held its annual Ailey Spring Gala—this year a tribute to Washington, D.C. that drew guests including Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, and Congressman James E. Clyburn. The evening honored the late Congressman John Lewis and featured three premieres, including “Hope” by Ghrai DeVore-Stokes, “Promise” by Chalvar Monteiro, and “Future” by Kanji Segawa, as well as excerpts from In Memory, a film by Ailey resident choreographer Jamar Roberts and “For Four,” a filmed dance choreographed by artistic director Robert Battle.
Tremaine Emory aims to incite reform from the inside out, utilizing platforms offered by giant conglomerates to recontextuali ze inequity and consider lingering effects of discrimination on Black America. Emory's latest move is in alignment with sportswear giant Champion, lionizing Alvin Ailey and his legendary Dance Theater in line with the forthcoming documentary film that explores Ailey's life and legacy.
This year’s Tribeca Film Festival includes two documentaries about truly legendary performers. In many ways, the films echo each other: They’re both about children of the Depression, artists whose struggles against racial oppression made them “firsts” in their fields, artists who have won both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and are Kennedy Center Honorees. The films themselves shine like medals around the artists’ necks: Love — or worship — sits at the core of each project. (These are deferential, at times often promotional documents.) But Jamila Wignot’s Ailey and Mariem Pérez Riera’s Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It are alike in another way too. They both demonstrate the limitations of trying to explicate genius. Talking heads can honor Alvin Ailey’s choreography; they can pay tribute to Rita Moreno’s spirit of tungsten steel. But neither documentary can really draw us inside its object — Ailey because the man himself is gone (and hard to know when he lived); Rita because her stories have already been polished to a high diamond shine.
Dance, fashion, and self-expression. It’s the heart and soul of voguing— a dance anyone can do. Just pretend you’re a model posing on a runway. “It’s not just an LGBTQ+ kind of thing,” said Vogue icon and pioneer Cesar Valentino. “It was always open to everyone and to people who just wanted to dress up and have a good time.”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of America's leading dance companies, will hold a virtual gala at 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 24th, delivered worldwide via the Internet. With the three themes of "Hope," "Promise," and "Future," this gala will feature premiere performances by members of the company, Ailey School students, and special guests.
Eavesdrop pre-curtain at Bay Area dance shows and you’ll hear audience members sharing their top dance memories. High on almost everyone’s list? Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at UC Berkeley. The company first visited the campus in 1960, two years after its founding, and has come back every year since. And neither Artistic Director Robert Battle nor Cal Performances’ leader Jeremy Geffen were about to let that Bay Area bond lapse in a pandemic, so the dancers have returned virtually in a streaming program that does an astonishing job of relaying their in-person power. The performance premieres Thursday, June 10, with a digital “watch party,” and will be available for streaming through Sept. 8.
Jamar Roberts stands still, all six feet and four inches of him, arms quietly at his sides. As a man's voice is heard—the first two words of text are "Black is"—Roberts steps into a wide stance, arms held out to their fullest wingspan. He fills every inch of the stage with his presence. Then he begins to lower both arms, slowly curving them inward. As if by the flip of a switch, on the words "oh my god," he flexes his wrists, twists his torso, and curves into a deep backbend. His body responds as if an electric current were going through it.
From “The Painter and the Thief” to “Apollo 11” and “Gunda,” Neon is proving to be a rich home to documentary film. The latest entry from the distributor is Jamila Wignot’s “Ailey,” a documentary about multi-hyphenate dancer, choreographer, director, and activist Alvin Ailey, who up until his death in 1989 inspired generations of dancers and founded the towering Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. “Ailey,” which first premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, releases on July 23 in theaters.
As we gear up to celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is encouraging moms to have fun being fit and fabulous by offering virtual fitness classes. The Ailey Extension is a division of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater that offers “real classes for real people.” During the month of May, National Physical Fitness Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, they’re offering virtual classes and special workshops to promote physical and mental fitness.