Ever since the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's last season at City Center, I've been dreaming of an chance to see this towering company up close in a small venue. Well, that wish was fulfilled--and then some--yesterday afternoon when I attended the troupe's open studio rehearsal of two Alvin Ailey works that will grace its 50th Anniversary season.
With artistic director Judith Jamison, veteran dancer Dudley Williams and choreographer Robert Battle in attendance, associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya led a full rehearsal of the company's new production of the classic masterpiece Blues Suite (1958), which brings to sizzling life a group of characters from Depression-era Texas, and an excerpt from Three Black Kings (1976), an inspiring Ailey/Duke Ellington collaboration.
As they say, Be careful what you ask for; you might get it!
I think I'm still stunned, still dazed, still overwhelmed by experiencing up close the power of these dancers, individually and as an ensemble. They demonstrate why, over half a century, this company has made believers of all kinds of dance audiences worldwide. Their physical instruments could not be finer, more vibrant; their passion for dance and for delivering every detail of expression, character, story and theme, could not be more profound. I felt that I was at a command performance but that it was the royalty--Clifton Brown, Hope Boykin, Renee Robinson, Matthew Rushing, Glenn Allen Sims, Guillermo Asca and more--performing for me and my colleagues on the sidelines. And Chaya could not have been more gracious and excited to tell us all about the company's anniversary plans.
Don't miss your own chance to connect with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II troupes this August! Click here for details about the Ailey street party and free performances (August 5-12).
With artistic director Judith Jamison, veteran dancer Dudley Williams and choreographer Robert Battle in attendance, associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya led a full rehearsal of the company's new production of the classic masterpiece Blues Suite (1958), which brings to sizzling life a group of characters from Depression-era Texas, and an excerpt from Three Black Kings (1976), an inspiring Ailey/Duke Ellington collaboration.
As they say, Be careful what you ask for; you might get it!
I think I'm still stunned, still dazed, still overwhelmed by experiencing up close the power of these dancers, individually and as an ensemble. They demonstrate why, over half a century, this company has made believers of all kinds of dance audiences worldwide. Their physical instruments could not be finer, more vibrant; their passion for dance and for delivering every detail of expression, character, story and theme, could not be more profound. I felt that I was at a command performance but that it was the royalty--Clifton Brown, Hope Boykin, Renee Robinson, Matthew Rushing, Glenn Allen Sims, Guillermo Asca and more--performing for me and my colleagues on the sidelines. And Chaya could not have been more gracious and excited to tell us all about the company's anniversary plans.
Don't miss your own chance to connect with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II troupes this August! Click here for details about the Ailey street party and free performances (August 5-12).
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