Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Program A
Dancing Spirit
Suite Otis
Unfold
Revelations

Dancing Spirit

Choreography: Ronald K. Brown
Lighting: Clifton Taylor
Costumes: Omatayo Wunmi Olaiya
Music: Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis, Radiohead, War

Ronald K. Brown pays tribute to Judith Jamison’s profound influence with a new work that echoes the title of Jamison’s autobiography. Set to music by Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis and War, Brown’s evocative choreography uses movement from Cuba, Brazil and the United States to conjure dancing spirits who embody Jamison’s elegance, vision, dignity and generosity.



Suite Otis

Choreography: George Faison
Music: Various Artists/Otis Redding
Costumes: George Faison
Lighting: Chenault Spence

Otis Redding’s sassy, sizzling music sets the stage for George Faison’s playful battle of the sexes. The yearning sensuality of such timeless songs as “Satisfaction,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and other favorites bursts through this sexy, charming and witty suite.

UnFold
Choreography: Robert Battle
Music: Gustave Charpentier
Singing: Leontyne Price
Costumes: Jon Taylor
Lighting: Lynda Erbs

Robert Battle’s sensuous, swirling duet evokes the tenderness and ecstasy in Gustave Charpentier’s aria, sung by the exquisite diva Leontyne Price. With its fluid grace, this gem exemplifies the choreographer’s skill for nuanced gesture and vivid imagery.

Revelations
Choreography: Alvin Ailey
Music: Popular
Costumes and Set: Wes Harper
Re Designed by: Barbara Forbs to Rocka My Soul
Lighting: Nicola Granovich



Program B
Festa Barocca
In/Side
Revelations

Festa Barocca

Choreography: Mauro Bigonzetti
Music:Georg Freidrich Handel

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 intensity and technical prowess.


In/Side

Choreography: Robert Battle
Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
Words: Ned Washington
Singing: Nina Simone
Lighting: Burke Wilmore

The vivid emotions of Nina Simone singing “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.