During a recent free hour after her morning class, before afternoon rehearsals and an evening performance, the dancer Jacquelin Harris was brushing up on some familiar material. It was the third day of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s season at New York City Center, 27 shows in three and a half weeks — a marathon, as always, for the troupe’s 31 dancers.
At Kyle Abraham’s premiere for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center, dancers find intimacy in songs by Erykah Badu and Jazmine Sullivan. The choreographer Kyle Abraham knows how to make a playlist. His third work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, “Are You in Your Feelings?,” which had its premiere on Friday as part of the company’s annual New York City Center season, unfurls to an R&B, soul and hip-hop compilation of thoroughly danceable songs about love and relationships.
Survivors’ has new resonance in a period of widespread protests. As Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to New York for its winter season, it will perform Revelations, of course, as well as a world premiere from in-demand choreographer Kyle Abraham. But it will also feature a work that has not been seen for more than 30 years: a wrenching tribute to Nelson and Winnie Mandela titled Survivors.
Back in New York, Alvin Ailey kicked off its winter season with a star-studded opening night gala at the New York City Center. Check out these, and even more star sightings of the week below.
Inside Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2022 gala. On November 30, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrated the opening of its holiday season with a gala performance at New York City Center.
MANHATTAN, New York (WABC) -- The Alvin Ailey Dance Company kicked off their holiday season in grand fashion Wednesday night with a special benefit performance. New works and returning favorites are on the program at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. There's even a romantic duet dance to the music of "Softly as I Leave You," part of a routine called "Nine Sinatra Songs."
Renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey started his namesake dance company back in 1958, and his work has remained timeless over the decades. Whether it’s the joyous celebration of Night Creature, the playful Pas de Duke, or his most revered masterpiece, Revelations, his work can be a transcendent experience that has filled the hearts and souls of audiences around the globe.
Maguette Camara prides himself on being “a really, really good beginner dance teacher.” It’s true: His high-energy, rhythm-filled West African dance classes burst with joy and community, and his patient, supportive demeanor reminds first-timers that dancing—not mastering every single step—is what’s most important.
Steve Adubato talks with Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Artistic Director about Alvin Ailey’s extraordinary legacy, past and present forces that inspire Mr. Battle, and the ability of the arts to empower social justice.
For Elijah Lancaster, the love of dance took root at age six. The seed was seeing Desmond Richardson perform in New York City with Complexions Contemporary Ballet. “He was on stage in a solo, in a spotlight with a chair, and the moment his leg went up, I saw the muscles,” Lancaster, now a company member at Dallas Black Dance Theatre, recounts in a recent episode of “Rising Artist.”