New Yorkers had a message for omicron on Wednesday night: We got this. We’re not letting a new variant stop us. It came from the throngs who gathered to see the tree lighting at Rockefeller Center, and from the ticket-holders for opening night of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s season at City Center, its first since 2019.
Celebrating 10 years as the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Battle says he is most proud of the chances he has taken.
“Still we dance” is the new slogan of the celebrated Alvin Ailey Dance Theater Company, which is opening its season Wednesday night at the New York City Center. It’s the first time they’ll perform live on stage in two years. PIX11’s Hazel Sanchez got a behind the scenes look at how the performers have prepared to inspire audiences in-person once again. Performances run for the next three weeks.
Like all performing arts organizations, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater stopped giving in-person concerts in March 2020. During the pandemic, they created online content. Now, two of the pieces that were conceived for streaming are being put onstage, as the company returns to New York's City Center.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre returned to the stage Wednesday. Former dancers, including Judith Jamison, walked the red carpet at the dance company’s opening night gala at New York City Center in Midtown. Because of the pandemic, last year’s gala and season were virtual.
"I'm just thrilled that we are going back and getting feedback in real time from the audience, that's the secret sauce," Alvin Ailey Artistic Director Robert Battle said. No one knew it, but the season finale on January 5, 2020 would be the last time.
We have all done it. You prepare to execute a series of flawless turns, only to fall flat to the floor. Or perhaps you're struggling to nail the balance at the end of a combination at the barre. You try again and again, but finding your center seems impossible—so you let yourself lean back or lower your standing heel just a little bit, just this once. While it seems like a good idea in the moment, that move has consequences that can range from inefficient movement patterns to serious injury. Fortunately, we can beat both the cheat and its potential side effects.
When sportswear brand Champion approached artist Tremaine Emory, aka Denim Tears, to collaborate on a new line, Emory looked to none other than Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for inspiration. To promote the launch of the resulting capsule collection, Ailey's own Samantha Figgins and Yannick Lebrun took over the Queens Museum for a short film, activating the empty space with their dancing. Directed by Taylour Paige, this video features gorgeous shots of the two dancers bringing the designs to life.
"He’s just as important as Michael Jordan,” said Tremaine Emory. Emory was referring to Alvin Ailey, the Black activist and choreographer who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958, when Black stories weren’t being told onstage through modern dance. His name isn’t as familiar as Michael Jordan’s, but his impact is far reaching. Ailey passed more than three decades ago, but his name still lives on through the dance company that he founded and the work he contributed. In 1960 he produced “Revelations,” a piece that tells the story of African American culture from slavery to freedom, and is still being performed by his company today. Emory, the designer behind Denim Tears, wanted to honor that with his newest project, an apparel collection called Cry/Revelations that was produced by Champion. Emory said Champion approached him about a collaboration and he immediately knew he wanted to do something connected to Alvin Ailey.
Ask Francesca Harper how she felt when Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Robert Battle announced her appointment as artistic director of Ailey II, that internationally renowned AAADT’s acclaimed troupe of young talented dancers and she gushes with excitement declaring, “It’s kind of surreal.” Yet, in many ways the appointment seems a natural step in a rather remarkable career, as well as a promising beginning of a critically acclaimed dance company’s next chapter, and last but not least, as a perfect example of the circle of life.