The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Photos by Andrew Eccles.
by Mark G. Auerbach
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre played to an enthusiastic sold-out audience at the UMass Fine Arts Center. They brought several repertory works with them, including the Ailey signature piece, Revelations, which has thrilled audiences for almost sixty years..
Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) was an African-American dancer, who became a choreographer and activist. After dancing with several companies including Lester Horton’s troupe, and dancing in the Broadway musicals House of Flowers and Jamaica, he founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, which gained the nickname of .”Cultural Ambassador to the World” because they frequently toured nationally and internationally.
He created Revelations, perhaps one of the best-known American modern dances, in 1960. Among his best known dance pieces are Cry, choreographed for Judith Jamison who eventually became director of the company, and The River, set to music by Duke Ellington, for American Ballet Theatre–it was subsequently seen in the movie The Turning Point; and Kevin Rhodes and the Springfield Symphony performed excerpts from the score last year. Ailey, who won a Kennedy Center honor, also staged Leonard Bernstein’s Mass at Kennedy Center and Carmen at The Metropolitan Opera.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Photos by Andrew Eccles.
Revelations simply dazzles. Ailey’s choreography, which has hints of ballet infused with jazz and Broadway, set to traditional spirituals, was different than many of the modern dance works of its time, in that it was boldly innovative, stunningly designed by Ves Harper, and lit by Nicola Cernovitch, and one “showstopper” after another. Revelations is as exciting today as it must have been at its premiere, and it is fresh and beautifully performed.
The program included two relatively new pieces Deep by Mauro Bigonzetti, which joined the company last year, and Ronald K. Brown’s Open Door, which became part of the repertory the season before. Robert Battle’s In/Side, a solo performed by Solomon Dumas, was electrifying.
The Company are beautiful to watch, as they combine the ballet, jazz, and modern esthetics. They’re backed up by brilliant lighting designs.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Photos by Andrew Eccles.
We’re lucky to have the Fine Arts Center and its magnificent programming nearby. I haven’t seen an audience as thrilled in a long time. They jumped to their feet in applause multiple times during the performance.
The UMass/Amherst performance of The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre was sponsored, in part, by The Westfield News Group.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre performs in Boston at The Wang Center on April 27-30. For details: http://celebrityseries.org/ailey/index.htm
For information on The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, including their upcoming performances in New York City: https://www.alvinailey.org/
For details on the upcoming UMass Fine Arts Center Season: 413-545-2511, 800-999-UMAS or http://www.fineartscenter.com/
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The University of Massachusetts FineArts Center presents The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Robert Battle, Artistic Director. Alvin Ailey, Founder. Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emeritus. Program: Deep. Choreography by Mauro Bigonzettii. Open Door. Choreography by Ronald K. Brown. In/Side. Choreography by Robert Battle. Revelations. Choreography by Alvin Ailey. April 25, 2017.
Mark G. Auerbach studied theatre at American University and the Yale School of Drama. He’s worked for arts organizations and reported on theatre for newspapers and radio.
