Opening night in Boston was spectacular. The journey began with a history lesson in the Harlem Renaissance era, a emotional devotion to dance, and a ending with one of the best Revelations performances I’ve ever seen.
The 2010 tour is Judith Jamison’s 20th anniversary celebration as artistic director. Each performance boasts a different program for the weekend. So, even though you won’t see all of the programs, you won’t be deprived of the Alvin Ailey experience. Check out the video clips here.
Uptown (2009)
Uptown was the brainchild of the company’s own Matthew Rushing. Adding the 18-year AA dancer to the lineup is something that Jamison says was “on purpose.” After a video presentation of old snapshots, Victor, our narrator (Amos J. Machanic, Jr.) opens the ballet with a history lesson of the culture that was Harlem in the 1920s and leads right into a Rent Party where the dancers let loose and express themselves to “This Joint is Jumping.” Rushing has carefully crafted the natural spontaneity of the scene to look as if everyone is just improving.
Perhaps my favorite part was the collaboration of dance and audio recordings from Harlem icons, W.E.B. DuBois and Zora Neale Huston. Rushing took time to acknowledge that Harlem wasn’t just about dance and jazz, but also about ideas. In their own words, DuBois and Neale explain their views while soloists interpret through dance.
The work continues through the Renaissance period with a dedication to “Shuffle Along,” the first all-black musical produced on Broadway and a reading of Langston Hughes “Weary Blues.” Rounding out the trip down memory lane, Rushing picks none other than the famed Cotton Club for the cast to dance the night away dressed in white tuxedos and ballgowns.
Uptown is a truly complete concept. Rushing hits the nail on the head, giving audiences a feel of the different happens on the streets of Harlem.
Dancing Spirit (2009)
As Uptown was more theatrical, Dancing Spirit is much more technical. Ron Brown was asked to create this new work for Jamison’s anniversary, and it is clear why. She’s just smitten with him. “He is an amazing human being and I find his work to be rooted and uplifting and true,” she says.
Brown choose the title Dancing Spirit after Jamison’s 1993 autobiography of the same title and uses nine dancers to capture the essence of the artistic director. Two of the nine represent mythological figures Ogun and Oya. Ogun the provider of power; Oya who makes change occur. A true comparison to the relationship between Alvin Ailey and Jamison.
The work opens with dancers in a single diagonal line, using their bodies in a slow, methodical way and builds to an explosive ever-changing finale. Even though the two ends are completely different, the energy and spirit of the effort to dance is extremely high. Brown explains that the end dance is a “thank you” from the dancers to the audience. No, thank YOU Mr. Brown for a truly exceptional piece of modern dance.
And finally …
Revelations (1960)
It’s been 50 years since the then 29-year-old Alvin Ailey created what is now considered to be an American classic. It was so early in Ailey’s career, yet so mature and powerful. Audiences around the world still can’t get enough of the history of the African American culture. Jamison says it best: “It’s walking grace. It’s from the heart and there’s no superficial layering to it. It is true.”
After all these years it is still pure.
You’d think that the dancers may grow tiresome of performing the legend’s signature modern dance program, but Jamison says it’s more of a rite of passage and re-invention.
“Dugby Williams used to say this years ago, (and he was in the company for 40 years) and then you have Renee Robinson in the company for 28 years, (the longest reigning female dancer in the company) and they re-invent themselves. You don’t even have to make the effort when you come on stage, when you’re carrying a parasol or when you’re wading in the water. Think of the imagery and think of our history and think of the African American church. Those roots that are African in orgin and American in origin. … I think my dancers appreciate that and really understand. They get closer to Alvin Ailey and who he was as a person and as a great choreography when they dance his work; especially Revelations.”
“People don’t feel like they’ve earned their chops until they’ve done Revs.”
The casting for the 2010 Revelations is magnificent. In fact, it’s probably one of the best I’ve seen. Every time I see it performed, I experience something new. The first time it was I’ve Been ‘Buked; that perfect pyramid with syncopation and energy in the faces and finger tips. Then it was “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham,” when I wanted to run right up on stage and flap a fan and start dancing. During the 50th Anniversary celebration of AAADT it was “Fix Me, Jesus” and this year I was blown away by the three gentlemen with an explosive “Sinner Man” (Jamar Roberts, Clifton Brown and Michael Francis McBride). Oh so good! Video doesn’t do it justice. When you see it in person, you’ll be blown away.
I love going to the theater with people who have never seen AAADT perform before. Watching their faces light up, you know they just had a that ah-ha moment. This time, I brought my sister who was subconsciously bobbing her head during “Rocka My Soul.” At that moment I knew she’d just experienced something she’ll never forget.
The Alvin Ailey experience
“If there is such a thing as an Ailey dancer it’s one who you expect to see a cornacopia of movement from to inform you that dance can look like this, it can look like that, it can look like many things. I think that’s part of the reason people that come to see it and bring generations of people with them. … Not only do you have a convergence of diversity in the audience but you have it on the stage. … You have your own personal journey that you can take with dances that make you feel.”
-Judith Jamison
Pointe & Press 