Photos: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Ailey II, the celebrated second company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, returns to its home, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, for a highly anticipated two-week season featuring 10 performances from March 23 – April 3.
In the first New York Season led by Artistic Director Francesca Harper, the gifted 12-member ensemble will showcase their artistry in three programs featuring premieres and returning favorites: Dichotomous, New Lens and Pulse, as well as the special celebrating Robert Battle’s 10th anniversary program paying homage to his visionary leadership and Ailey journey, which began in 1999 choreographing Mood Indigo for the second company.
Franchesca Harper
The Ailey Citigroup Theater engagement features the New York premiere of Robert Battle’s Searchlight, inspired by the relationship of Ailey II Artistic Director Francesca Harper and her late mother, Denise Jefferson; company premieres of Battle’s Alleluia (excerpt), which meshes the foot stomping and hand gestures of the Baptist Church with classical Baroque idioms; William Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure, a work putting the formidable dance skills of the Ailey II dancers on fine display, giving their craft and vitality an invigorating framework; and Francesca Harper’s Freedom Series, a ballet that travels through a landscape of memories creating a series of vignettes that embody and imagine a hybrid world where memory strives to influence the future.
Returning favorites gracing the stage include Psūkhe by Andrea Miller, Saa Magni by Yannick Lebrun as well as Robert Battle’s Takademe and The Hunt. Click here for the complete Ailey II New York Season press release.
For dancers who are passionate about becoming a part of the Ailey legacy, The Ailey School holds auditions around the country and virtually. Ailey II serves as a bridge between The Ailey School and the professional dance world and is comprised of the most talented students from the elite training program. Approximately 70% of the dancers in Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater were once in Ailey II. For more information and to register to audition, visit The Ailey School website.
Alvin Ailey’s pioneering legacy lives on more than 60 years after he and a small group of African-American dancers first took the stage through performances and programs that serve people of all ages and backgrounds year-round. In conjunction with Ailey’s return to live performances, audiences worldwide will continue to be inspired by the acclaimed Ailey documentary about the Company’s trailblazing founder streaming on PBS Passport and Hulu, Ailey All Access, a series of free digital offerings, bringing dance performances, short films, and Ailey Extension dance and fitness classes to nearly 46 million people in 121 countries since the pandemic’s onset.
For more information on Ailey happenings, visit www.alvinailey.org.
