Masks or no masks, returning to the Auditorium Theater to see live performance felt like being reborn. The venue still requires proof of vaccination and mask wearing but nobody was complaining this past Saturday afternoon. The sense of relief at having entertainment return to the iconic venue ran heavy in the air as did the excitement of once again seeing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform.
It was clear a lot of those attending were Ailey veterans with long histories of past shows under their belts. And judging from the youth of others, the afternoon’s performance would likely be their first taste of the dance company’s legendary magic.
If you’re an Alvin Ailey fan, the assortment of programs offered over the four day, five show schedule last week felt a bit overwhelming. Each of three programs could be considered a must-see event. This year Rennie Harris’s 2018 epically expansive Lazarus was featured Friday and Sunday nights, while choreography created by Ailey himself reigned Thursday night and Saturday afternoon. Saturday night was dedicated to works conceived by former Ailey dancer, Robert Battle; who’s celebrating his 10th year as the company’s Executive Director. As always, Alvin Ailey’s timeless masterpiece Revelations closed each night’s performance.
Regardless of its style, origin or pedigree, it’s impossible to tire of exemplary dance. Founded over 60 years ago, the world acclaimed dance company has long been known for the high level in which it honors African American culture. Presenting an affirming and positive depiction of the Black experience was just one of the company’s missions. The other has been to display peerless excellence in dance performance. These objectives may have proven transformational and revolutionary in 1958, but today they explain AAADT’s astounding longevity and success.
Because the Saturday afternoon program was devoted to the creative vision of the company’s founder, the audience was treated do a little time travel. Each of the dances performed were choreographed by Mr. Ailey between 1958 and 1976. Many won acclaim when they premiered and continue to be popular today. Ailey choreographed Blues Suite at the very outset of his pioneering journey. Conceived when Jim Crow saturated the country from coast to coast, leaving no state unscathed, his dance creations, including Blues Suite, were refutations of the toxic depictions of Black culture awash in American society. Ailey’s goal was to elevate. To revise a history that had been distorted. That might explain why he filled Blues Suite with messages that carried joy. Floating on music “from the fields and barrelhouses of the Southern Negro”, the constellation of dance vignettes glide on the many facets of the blues. Echoing the rainbow of feelings the blues express so well, Ailey crafted his dances to do the same thing; always leaning in on what would propel spiritual uplift in audiences. In Blues Suite, lithe bodies in period costumes swirl, sway and dance with a lightness and surety that blaze with confidence. Broadway crisp and choreographed to tell clear, literal stories, the dances were also vehicles brimming with pure entertainment. Clarity of message, built-in humor and beautiful dance acumen made Courtney Celeste Spears and Solomon Dumas wonderfully compelling in their duet, Backwater Blues.
Ailey also showed how the elegance of classic dance can retain every iota of its fluid beauty while taking on a completely different slant. In his Pas de Duke, presented that afternoon in a shortened form, he completely re-fashioned ballet’s dance for two. Rather than tutu’s and tights, dancers sported figure hugging sleeveless jumpsuits made of satin. As sleek as cats, he in white and she in black, the couple stalked each other with the serenity of swans before falling into synchronous harmony. Danced atop the stylishness of Duke Ellington’s jazz, Pas de Duke, choreographed in 1976, has long been an emblem of charismatic beauty for the company. Samantha Figgins and James Gilmer’s calm perfection helped make it a highlight of the afternoon.
Sadly, with every viewing of Revelations, it seems to grow shorter and shorter. You can have that impression when you’ve seen something so often that you know it better than you realize. Divided into ten parts, each segment of Revelations is its own brick in the foundation of the Black American experience. It’s epic, lengthy and sumptuous. Because it’s so captivating, so unconsciously engrossing, the feeling is that it’s over in seconds. Danced as the finale to each of its touring performances all over the world for 64 years, Revelations continues to sustain the full force of its spell. Every year on the cusp of Spring, we find that the same is true of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as well.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
March 2 – 6, 2022
The Auditorium Theater
60 East Ida B. Wells Drive
Chicago, IL 60605