New York City Center, New York, NY.
December 17, 2024.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater settled into their annual winter month-long season at New York City Center, performing a wide range of dances, from Ailey classics, to new works, and several reimagined pieces. An Ailey show at City Center is always a festive affair, and this year was no exception. There was a buzz of excitement in the house, nearly full from my perspective. On the eve of my attendance, the company performed Finding Free (Hope Boykin), Many Angels (Lar Lubovitch), and Grace (Ronald K. Brown). Both Finding Free and Many Angels are new works for the 2024-25 season, and Grace has been reimagined for the 25th anniversary of the original premiere.
The evening opened with Finding Free, a tale of the journeys we all face to discover our strength. Highly pedestrian in nature, groups move en masse with dancers leaving briefly, only to return quickly to the community dressed in the earth-toned sleeveless trench coats. The world Boykin created was clear, the value of community apparent, and the often dark struggle of life quite obvious, but it meandered through some of the ideas she presented, diluting their impact a bit. One dancer is bound by ropes at one point and eventually breaks free – a choice that could seem cliche, but wasn’t. In the end, the dancers seem to have found their freedom in a walk toward heaven.
In an obvious but charming programming choice, the audience transcended as well into upwards with the next work, Many Angels. We only see five of these heavenly creatures over the course of the dance, but as it was set against a soft pink and blue cloud backdrop, it begs the notion that more angels might be lurking behind any such perfect cloud. Per the program notes, the piece might exist to exist, just as some things in life can only be taken on a matter of faith. In any case, the dancing was stunning and the piece a serene sorbet after the angst and struggle in Finding Free.
The stalwart Revelations almost always closes Ailey shows, but sometimes other works take on the honor and step into the massive shoes left by the company’s most famous dance. Nine times during this 2024-25 season, that role was filled by Grace, a 25-year-old dance by Ronald K. Brown. For these performances, the work was reimagined. Having not seen the original, I couldn’t compare the two, but I can certainly say this version provided an end to the night filled with many of the same impactful emotional moments as Revelations. Brown’s signature style uses both modern and African styles to create a unique and energetic movement quality – those dancers were moving – and the work ended the note on a very high note.
The Ailey company has such deep pool of repertory from which to build its lengthy season each year, and it’s a treat to have multiple options to attend. It will always hold its place as one of the groundbreaking American dance companies, and those who can finagle their way into a seat at any show are lucky indeed.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
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