Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Program I: Excerpts from Ailey Classics

Floor 3, Theater

September 25–26 at 2 pm, 5 pm
September 27 at 2 pm, 7:30 pm
September 28*–29 at 2 pm, 5 pm

*Audio description will be available for this performance on September 28 at 2pm

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As part of the Edges of Ailey exhibition, the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs excerpts from Ailey classics. Featuring a dance set to music by Duke Ellington, Pas de Duke is an elegant, flirtatious work that shows off the exuberance and virtuosity of the dancers’ physical and stylistic differences. Only four minutes long, Reflections in D is a solo Ailey created for himself, as an interlude to give other dancers time to change costumes between ballets. Delving into universal themes that are still relevant today, Masekela Langage draws parallels between the era of South African apartheid and the racial violence of 1960s Chicago. Also included is the solo Cry, created by Ailey as a birthday gift to his mother and dedicated to “all Black women everywhere—especially our mothers.” Closing the program is a selection from Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations, which fervently explores the soul’s deepest grief and holiest joy and was born from what Ailey described as his  “blood memories” of childhood in rural Texas and the Baptist Church. 

Program
Excerpt from Pas de Duke (1976)
Excerpt from Opus McShann (1988)
Reflections in D (1963)
Excerpt from Masekela Langage (1969)
Excerpt from Cry (1971)
Excerpt from Revelations (1960)

Program runtime is approximately 30 minutes

Excerpt from Pas de Duke
1976
Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Restaged by Masazumi Chaya
Music by Duke Ellington . "Such Sweet Thunder" used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc., publisher and copyright owner
Costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian   
Lighting by Chenault Spence

Cast: 
Miranda Quinn, Chalvar Monteiro (Sept 25 at 2pm, Sept 26 at 5pm, Sept 28 at 2pm, Sept 29 at 5pm) 
Constance Stamatiou, Isaiah Day (Sept 25 at 5pm, Sept 27 at 2pm, Sept 28 at 5pm)
Samantha Figgins, Patrick Coker (Sept 26 at 2pm, Sept 27 at 7:30pm, Sept 29 at 2pm)

Excerpt from Opus McShann
1988
Doo Wah Doo
Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Restaged by Masazumi Chaya
Music composed by Jay McShann and Walter Brown
Performed by Jay McShann
Sets and costumes by Randy Barcelo
Lighting by Timothy Hunter

Cast:
Isaiah Day, De’Anthony Vaughan (Sept 25 at 2pm, Sept 26 at 5pm, Sept 28 at 2pm, Sept 29 at 5pm)
Chalvar Monteiro, De’Anthony Vaughan (Sept 26 at 2pm, Sept 27 at 7:30pm, Sept 29 at 2pm)
Renaldo Maurice, Vernard J. Gilmore (Sept 25 at 5pm, Sept 27 at 2pm, Sept 28 at 5pm)

Reflections in D
1963
Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Restaged by Judith Jamison
Music by Duke Ellington ("Reflections in D") Used by Permission of Sony/ATV Harmony, TEMPO MUSIC INC. All rights reserved.
Costume recreated by Jon Taylor
Lighting by Nicola Cernovitch

Cast: 
Renaldo Maurice (Sept 25 at 2pm, Sept 26 at 5pm, Sept 28 at 2pm, Sept 29 at 5pm)
Corrin Rachelle Mitchell (Sept 25 at 5pm, Sept 27 at 2pm, Sept 28 at 5pm)
Vernard J. Gilmore (Sept 26 at 2pm, Sept 27 at 7:30pm, Sept 29 at 2pm)

Excerpt from Masekela Langage
1969
Morolo
Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Restaged by Masazumi Chaya
Music by Hugh Masekela 
Scenic Design by William Hammond 
Costumes by A. Christina Giannini 
Lighting by Chenault Spence 

Cast: 
Alisha Rena Peek, Jesse Obremski, Leonardo Brito, Shawn Cusseaux (Sept 25 at 2pm, Sept 26 at 5pm)
Miranda Quinn, Patrick Coker, De’Anthony Vaughan, Xavier Mack (Sept 25 at 5pm, Sept 27 at 2pm, Sept 28 at 5pm)
Dandara Veiga, Jesse Obremski, Leonardo Brito, Shawn Cusseaux (Sept 26 at 2pm, Sept 27 at 7:30pm)
Alisha Rena Peek, Jesse Obremski, Solomon Dumas, Shawn Cusseaux (Sept 28 at 2pm, Sept 29 at 5pm)
Dandara Veiga, Jesse Obremski, Solomon Dumas, Shawn Cusseaux  (Sept 29 at 2pm)

Excerpt from Cry
1971
Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Restaged by Masazumi Chaya
Music by Chuck Griffin “Right On, Be Free” written by Chuck Griffin, performed by The Voices of East Harlem, used with permission of the publisher, Really Together Music.
Costume by A. Christina Giannini
Lighting by Chenault Spence

Cast: 
Constance Stamatiou (Sept 25 at 2pm, Sept 26 at 5pm, Sept 28 at 2pm)
Samantha Figgins (Sept 25 at 5pm, Sept 27 at 2pm, Sept 28 at 5pm, Sept 29 at 5pm)
Caroline T. Dartey (Sept 26 at 2pm, Sept 27 at 7:30pm, Sept 29 at 2pm)

Excerpt from Revelations 
1960
MOVE, MEMBERS, MOVE - Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham
Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Restaged by Masazumi Chaya
Music: Traditional
Décor and Costumes by Ves Harper
Costumes for “Rocka My Soul” redesigned by Barbara Forbes
Lighting by Nicola Cernovitch
Music adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts.

Cast: 
Isaiah Day, Solomon Dumas, Vernard J. Gilmore, Xavier Mack, Corrin Rachelle Mitchell,
Chalvar Monteiro, Jessica Amber Pinkett, Deidre Rogan, Dandara Veiga, Isabel Wallace-Green (Sept 25 at 2pm, Sept 26 at 5pm)
Patrick Coker, Shawn Cusseaux, Caroline T. Dartey, Solomon Dumas, Chalvar Monteiro, Jesse Obremski, Alisha Rena Peek, Jessica Amber Pinkett, Deidre Rogan, Isabel Wallace-Green (Sept 25 at 5pm, Sept 28 at 5pm)
Patrick Coker, Isaiah Day, Solomon Dumas, Xavier Mack, Renaldo Maurice, Kali Marie Oliver, Jessica Amber Pinkett, Deidre Rogan, Constance Stamatiou, Isabel Wallace-Green (Sept 26 at 2pm)
Patrick Coker, Shawn Cusseaux, Caroline T. Dartey, Vernard J. Gilmore, Chalvar Monteiro, Jesse Obremski, Alisha Rena Peek, Jessica Amber Pinkett, Deidre Rogan, Isabel Wallace-Green (Sept 27 at 2pm)
Patrick Coker, Solomon Dumas, Xavier Mack, Renaldo Maurice, Kali Marie Oliver,
Jesse Obremski, Jessica Amber Pinkett, Deidre Rogan, Constance Stamatiou, Isabel Wallace-Green (Sept 27 at 7:30pm)
Patrick Coker, Solomon Dumas, Vernard J. Gilmore, Xavier Mack, Corrin Rachelle Mitchell, Chalvar Monteiro, Jessica Amber Pinkett, Deidre Rogan, Dandara Veiga, Isabel Wallace-Green (Sept 28 at 2pm, Sept 29 at 5pm)
Patrick Coker, Isaiah Day, Vernard J. Gilmore, Xavier Mack, Renaldo Maurice,
Corrin Rachelle Mitchell, Kali Marie Oliver, Jessica Amber Pinkett, Deidre Rogan, Isabel Wallace-Green (Sept 29 at 2pm)

All casting is subject to change. Read the dancers' bios at ailey.org/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 
Founded by Alvin Ailey in 1958 and forged during a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater uplifts the African American experience while transcending boundaries of race, faith, and nationality with its universal humanity. Recognized as a "vital American Cultural Ambassador to the World," it is one of the most acclaimed dance companies worldwide. Having performed in more than seventy countries on six continents, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to bring joy to audiences everywhere while upholding Ailey’s legacy for future generations.