Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Archives

★★★★★

“A great introduction to the company, and modern dance, for modern audiences”

This year is the first time Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed in the UK since 2019 and they are making the most of the opportunity. The fifteen show run at Sadler’s Wells treats audiences to four different programmes spanning a wide range of classics and more contemporary pieces.

Most programmes end with the iconic and uplifting Revelations, created by the company’s founder-choreographer in 1960. It is a masterpiece of modern dance, a tribute to Ailey’s southern American upbringing – standing the test of time through its combination of moving spirituals, evocative costume, and as a piece which allows the company’s large cast of dancers the opportunity to demonstrate their technical prowess. It’s the most rehearsed, most precisely directed piece of the programme. The artistry is evident, with the smallest movements of the arms, hands, or hips often having the most powerful impact. I only wished the music could be louder – ear-drum-bustingly so – to be transported all the more into a southern baptismal church where the power of the music means you can’t help but find yourself dancing in the aisles.

In a clever programming decision, the opening piece in many ways mirrors Revelations, as a celebration of the contemporary black experience. Are You in Your Feelings? was created for the company by Kyle Abraham and is set to popular black music from Kendrick Lamar to Jazmine Sullivan. It is a playful piece with plenty of humour, bright neon lights and costumes contrasting with the muted tones of Revelations. From braggadocious displays of street swagger, through to voguing and intimate pas de deux, mixed and same gender, Abraham clearly has a broad church when seeking to represent the black experience.

The choreography here is more relaxed than the other works, informed by classical techniques but taking its cue from the musical choices, and likely the dancers own unique styles. Some moments, like when doing a pastiche of a petit allegro to a Drake song, don’t quite come off. But that doesn’t detract from enjoyment. Ashley Kaylynn Green is undoubtedly the star of the show. She intuitively melts into each and every movement, or jolts her isolations like a bolt of lightning. Her face lights up the stage and she looks like she’s having the time of her life – you can’t take your eyes off her.

The two pieces that act as the bridge between the contemporary and classic are For Four and Unfold, both by current artistic director Robert Battle. For Four is a high intensity jazz number where the rapid and precise movements of the four dancers have a specificity to the music. Unfold, set to an operatic aria, takes a much slower pace, but appears no less demanding on the dancers. But neither piece is just a beautiful display of talent; each leaves you with questions about what you were really watching. The jazz formula is broken in For Four when one of the dancers breaks out of their braces and waistcoat and dances in a spotlight of the american flag. Ashley Mayeux’s movements in Unfold get steadily more unnerving and unnatural, until she looks like a woman possessed. No explanations are given in either piece, and you are left wondering what it could all mean – an interesting contrast to the relatively simple narratives in the other half of the programme.

The four year hiatus from UK shores has done nothing but increase anticipation for this iconic American company who have delivered with crowd-pleasers and more challenging works. This is a must-see show for dance aficionados and amateurs alike. A great introduction to the company, and modern dance, for modern audiences.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – Programme C – Ounce of Faith / Members Don’t Get Weary / Ella / Revelations

Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Reviewed – 10th September 2019

★★★★

“These are dancers at the very top of their game, with bodies at the peak of strength and grace, tuned to the highest level of expression“

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is currently at Sadler’s Wells. Over the course of ten days, the company is showcasing its unique choreographic style, fusing contemporary with African, Asian and Native American dance, along with jazz and hip-hop influenced movement. The company is presenting three programmes, each ending with Ailey’s signature piece, Revelations, created in 1960; quite possibly the most famous piece in the global contemporary dance repertoire. All the work stems from African American experience, from ‘blood memories’ as Ailey termed his own Texan childhood, and is danced to the rhythms of both Africa and America, blending gospel, soul, blues and jazz with more contemporary beats and percussive rhythms.

The three newer pieces in Programme C – Ounce of Faith, Members Don’t Get Weary and Ella are linked both thematically and musically, and there is a clear through line and feeling of progression to them which makes for immensely satisfying viewing. Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Ounce of Faith takes its title from a piece of spoken word used in the work, ‘when someone has an ounce of faith in you, it can change the course of your life’ and the choreography physically highlights the beauty and value of support throughout, particularly in the stunning trio danced by three male dancers in the first third of the piece. The work moves from individual struggle, in which we literally see the physical pressure of the world manifest in the body of a single female dancer, through high-energy ensemble sections, to more intimate manifestations of togetherness, to a moment of stillness garnered from a finale in which we, along with the dancers, surrender to pure movement. It is by turns beautiful, tender, sexy and exciting. And full of soul and pride. It shouts, WE ARE HERE AND TOGETHER WE ARE STRONG and had the audience whooping with pleasure as the curtain came down last night. These are dancers at the very top of their game, with bodies at the peak of strength and grace, tuned to the highest level of expression. It’s a moving and joyous experience to watch.

Members Don’t Get Weary is Jamar Roberts’ extraordinary creation, which comes from the music of John Coltrane. Watching this piece is akin to watching Coltrane’s music made flesh. The dancers simply become the music; they are not dancing alongside it, but embodying it. They simply ARE the music. It is as though the notes issuing from that alto sax, piano and bass leave the instruments and morph into human form. The piece begins in semi-narrative mode, when we watch a micro-drama unfold, but it really comes into its own when the narrative is left behind and the soul and passion of Coltrane’s playing is simply danced out in front of us. Thrilling, mesmerising, unforgettable. The dancers move like liquid in their shades of blue, but they are on fire.

In the final piece, before the closing Revelations, we are treated to the five minute burst of joy that is Ella. Ella Fitzgerald was famous for her virtuoso quick-fire scatting, and in this exuberant duet, Robert Battle’s choreography matches the playfulness, comedy and pure frenzied fun of Ella’s live concert performance of Airmail Special. It is fast and furious, and the two male dancers who danced it last night seemed to be having the time of their lives, which meant we did too.

Despite its sacred place in the contemporary dance canon, it seems a strange choice to perform Revelations as the closing piece to each programme. It is still an important work, but to continually finish with it seems to take away from the sensational new work that is surely Ailey’s true legacy.

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre

★★★★★

“A great introduction to the company, and modern dance, for modern audiences”

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre

Reviewed on 5th September 2023

by Amber Woodward

Photography by Paul Kolnik

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at 65 runs at Sadler’s Wells Theatre until 16th September and features four different programmes. This review was Programme C (Contemporary Voices)

Previously reviewed at this venue: