Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Program II: Excerpts from New Works
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Jacquelin Harris in Hope Boykin's Finding Free. Photo by Paul Kolnik
Tickets
Tickets are required and include Museum admission. $50 General Admission, $30 Members The January 24 performance at 5 pm and 7:30 pm is $10 General Admission and Members.
Doors open approximately 30 minutes prior to showtime. To protect the focus and integrity of our artists, latecomers will not be admitted. Tickets cannot be refunded or exchanged.
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Floor 3, Theater
January 22–23 at 5 pm
January 24 at 7:30 pm
January 25 at 2 pm and 5 pm
January 26 at 2 pm
*Audio description will be available for the performance on January 25 at 2 pm.
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Presented as part of the Edges of Ailey exhibition, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the Whitney to present new works by Company veterans Hope Boykin, Jamar Roberts and Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing. For Al-Andalus Blues, Jamar Roberts journeys back in time to the Golden Age of Al-Andalus on the Iberian Peninsula, evoking the north African Moors who inhabited the land prior to the Christian Reconquista. The music of Roberta Flack and Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain sets the tone for this abstract ensemble piece.
In Finding Free, Boykin along with composer and pianist Matthew Whitaker examine the challenges and restrictions throughout life’s peaks and valleys that propel the journey forward. This insightful work uses Boykin’s movement-language and Whitaker’s jazz- and gospel-influenced score to explore personal freedoms. In Sacred Songs, Rushing resurrects and reimagines songs omitted from the original production of Revelations to speak to our present need of lament, faith, and joy.
Program:
Introduction by Amos Mechanic Jr.
Excerpt from Al-Andalus Blues
Excerpt from Finding Free
Excerpts from Sacred Songs
Runtime is approximately 30 minutes.
Excerpts from Al-Andalus Blues
2024
Choreography by Jamar Roberts
Assistant to the Choreographer: Ghrai Devore-Stokes
Music performed by Roberta Flack and Miles Davis
Costumes by Jamar Roberts and Jon Taylor
Lighting by Brandon Stirling Baker
Scenic Design by Libby Stadstad
“Angelitos Negros”
“Angelitos Negros” written by Manuel Álvarez "Maciste" Rentería. Original lyrics written by Andrés Eloy Blanco. Adapted from Píntame Angelitos Negros. Courtesy of Orfeón Records.
Cast:
Hannah Richardson (Jan 22, Jan 23, Jan 25)
Ashley Green (Jan 24, Jan 26)
Excerpts from Finding Free
2024
Choreography by Hope Boykin
Assistant to the Choreographer: Terri Ayanna Wright
Music by Matthew Whitaker
Costumes by Hope Boykin and Jon Taylor
Lighting by Al Crawford
Finding Free is not the absence of trials but the ability to carry weight, gaining the strength to endure.
“Rope solo” **
Cast:
Chalvar Monteiro (Jan 22, Jan 23, Jan 24)
Ashley Green (Jan 25)
Excerpts from Sacred Songs
2024
Choreographed by Matthew Rushing
Assistant to the Choreographer: Alexandria Johnson
Creative Associate and Music by Du’Bois A’Keen
Costumes by Danté Baylor
Lighting by Andre A.Vazquez
Scenic Design by Matthew Rushing and Joseph Anthony Gaito
“I Feel Like Going On” **
“Wonder Why”
“Passage Song”
“When the Stars Begin to Fall”
Cast:
Corrin Mitchell, Christopher Wilson, Jesse Obremski, Solomon Dumas, De’ Anthony Vaughan, Renaldo Maurice, Shawn Cusseaux, Ashley Green, Alisha Peek, Kali Oliver, Jacquelin Harris
**For the program on January 26 at 3pm, “Rope Solo” (excerpt from Finding Free) will be replaced by “I Feel Like Going On” (excerpt from Sacred Songs).
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.
Amos Machanic, Jr. is currently a Teaching Artist with Ailey Arts in Education & Community Programs. Machanic studied dance at the New World School of the Arts and continued his training at The Ailey School where he was a fellowship recipient. Machanic was a member of Ailey II and joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1996. During his years with the company, Machanic had the pleasure of traveling across the globe. In 2010, he performed at the White House tribute to Judith Jamison and now enjoys being a freelance artist and teacher.
