Press Coverage

March 23, 2022

ABC7 - Alvin Ailey Artistic Director Makes New York City Debut

In celebration of Women's History Month, we highlight a trailblazer in the world of ballet who is now heading up the next generation of performers at a dance theater in New York City. Francesca Harper is making her New York City debut as the artistic director at Alvin Ailey II on Wednesday night. Harper is following her mother, the late Denise Jefferson's footsteps. Her mother directed the Ailey school for roughly 26 years. When Jefferson was a child dreaming of becoming a ballerina, a teacher pointed out that there were none of color, and she quit. She would later return to dance, but that story stuck with Harper.

March 23, 2022

San Francisco Chronicle - Review: Classic ‘Revelations’ Feeds The Soul As Alvin Ailey Company Returns To Cal Performances

Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations” is back in the flesh — and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is dancing it as rousingly as ever. If you’ve never seen “Revelations,” or haven’t gotten a dose in a few years, make haste to the Ailey company’s current run at UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances, where this eternal and indestructible 1960 classic is slated to cap every program (there are five of them) on offer through Sunday, April 3. And brace yourself; as one longtime fan was heard telling a newcomer on opening night Thursday, March 29, “You’re about to go to church.”

March 21, 2022

Broadway World - Dancer Spotlight: Hannah Alissa Richardson Of Ailey II Performing At The Ailey Citigroup Theater 3/23 To 4/3

First-year Ailey II member Hannah Alissa Richardson will join, the celebrated second company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as they return to their home, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, for a highly anticipated two-week season featuring 10 performances from March 23 to April 3. In the first New York Season led by Artistic Director Francesca Harper, the gifted 12-member ensemble will showcase their artistry in three programs featuring premieres and returning favorites: Dichotomous, New Lens and Pulse, as well as the special celebrating Robert Battle's 10th anniversary program paying homage to his visionary leadership and Ailey journey, which began in 1999 choreographing Mood Indigo for the second company. Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Hannah Alissa Richardson about her career and the upcoming performances by Ailey II.

March 09, 2022

NYC Media Barefeet in NYC - Black Voices

Season 5: Ep. 1: Mickela Mallozzi kicks off this new season of Bare Feet celebrating black voices in the arts by dancing with Virginia Johnson and the renowned Dance Theatre of Harlem, along with Misty Copeland and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater! She drums and dances with the Brooklyn United Marching Band, celebrating Juneteenth with Black-owned small business owners, restaurants, and festivals throughout the city!

March 06, 2022

WTTW PBS Chicago - Black Voices: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Dancers Return To Chicago Stage

It was at Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre where dancers with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater would unknowingly perform for the last time before a nearly two-year hiatus. Fast forward to today, and they’re back on their first national tour. Ailey's Artistic Director Robert Battle and Chicago-native dancer Solomon Dumas speak with Angel Idowu about the Company's return.

February 21, 2022

Windy City TImes - Dancer Vernard Gilmore 'Reflects' On Alvin Ailey, Dance, His Own Feelings

Twenty-five years is a long time to be involved in any discipline. Now imagine having to be in prime physical shape all that time—on the level of an elite athlete. Vernard Gilmore, who grew up in Chicago, has been with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for a quarter-century. He began his training at Curie Performing and Creative Arts High School before studying at the Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater and then moving to New York City. Gilmore is currently featured in Alvin Ailey's solo "Reflections in D" and takes center stage in other classics such as Revelations and Blues Suite. Gilmore, who's openly gay, recently talked with Windy City Times about Alvin Ailey, the evolution of dance, the Ailey documentary and his own feelings during the past two years that have challenged everyone.

February 18, 2022

The Chicago Tribune - Alvin Ailey Dancers Show Features South Elgin Dancer Sarah Daley-Perdomo

A local dancer will perform for a hometown crowd when the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater comes to Chicago. Sarah Daley-Perdomo, who grew up in South Elgin and graduated from St. Charles North High School, is a company member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and will perform at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago March 2-6. Daley-Perdomo, 35, started out in ballet when she was five years old and continued her training at the Faubourg School of Ballet in Hanover Park. "It was something I realized I had a talent for and wanted to see how far I could go," she said.

February 17, 2022

The New York Beacon - Francesca Harper Is Changing The Trajectory Of The Ailey II Company New York

Francesca Harper, internationally renowned performer, choreographer, director, and multi-disciplinary artist, has changed the trajectory of The Ailey II Company New York after being tapped by Robert Battle, Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, to lead the renowned dance company in the 21st century. Harper assumed the duties of Artistic Director of Ailey II, the Ailey organization's acclaimed company of young dancers September 7, 2021, and immediately started preparing for Ailey II's return to the stage.

February 11, 2022

Live 5 - North Charleston Native Comes Home To Perform With Alvin Ailey Dance Theater

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Charleston. The world-famous African American dance troupe performs at the Gaillard Tuesday and Wednesday. One of the dancers taking the stage is a young woman who grew up in North Charleston. Ashley Green is a 2016 graduate of the Charleston County School of the Arts.

February 04, 2022

The Atlanta Journal Constitution - Alvin Ailey Troupe Returns To The Fox

Instinct rather than intention guided Robert Battle, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, when he choreographed the image of dancer Renaldo Maurice, a Black man, draped in the American flag. Battle had envisioned his piece, “For Four,” as a light opener to a jazz score capturing the pandemic’s pent-up energies. But at some level, Battle said, he needed to respond to the murder of George Floyd and “these fragile times in our democracy.”