Running time: 1 hours 59 minutes


Schedule for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Festa Barocca. In/Side. Revelations 2022


Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra

Robert Battle, Artistic Director
Masazumi Chaya, Associate Artistic Director

Alvin Ailey American Dance The ater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance. The  Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 23 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents  as well as millions more through television broadcasts. In 2008, a  U.S. Congressional resolution designated the Company as “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world,” one that celebrates the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage. When Mr. Ailey began creating dances, he drew upon his "blood memories" of Texas, the blues, spirituals and gospel as inspiration, which resulted in the creation of his most popular and critically acclaimed work, Revelations. Although he created 79 ballets over his lifetime, Mr. Ailey maintained that his company was not exclusively a repository for his own work. Today, the Company continues Mr. Ailey's mission by presenting important works of the past and commissioning new ones. In all, more than 200 works by over 80 choreographers are part of the Ailey company’s repertory. Before his untimely death in 1989, Alvin Ailey designated Judith Jamison as his successor, and over the next 21 years, she brought the Company to unprecedented success. In July 2011, Ms. Jamison passed the mantle to Robert Battle. In announcing his appointment as Artistic Director, Ms  Jamison stated, “Combining an intimate knowledge of the Ailey company with an independent perspective, Robert Battle is without question the creative force of the future.”

Festa Barocca
Acclaimed Italian choreographer Mauro Bigonzetti, praised for his fresh and inventive sensibility, brings his distinctly European flair to the Ailey repertory for the first time. With a highly dramatic style, complex partnering and seamless integration of classical and modern styles, Bigonzetti showcases the Ailey dancers’ emotional agility and technical prowess.

In/Side
The vivid emotions of Nina Simone’s “Wild is the Wind” play out in Robert Battle’s gripping solo. The bold, unrestrained style that has become his signature is evinced in this visceral cry of pure physicality.

Revelations
Alvin Ailey said that one of America’s richest treasures was the cultural heritage of the African-American – ”sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.” This enduring classic is a tribute to that heritage and to Ailey’s genius. Using African-American traditional spirituals, this suite fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul.

Celebrating Revelations at 50, a short film by Emmy Award winning producer and director Judy Kinberg, will be shown before each performance of Revelations. With rare footage of Alvin Ailey and selections from a new interview with Judith Jamison, the film introduces the history and significance of the ballet over the last half century.

Running time: 1 hours 59 minutes