Review: ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER PROGRAM B at the Kennedy Center

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returned to the Kennedy Center this week with three different programs of new works and Ailey classics. Thursday night’s Program B featured two premieres from 2024, both by former company members, and the juggernaut, Mr. Ailey’s Revelations from 1960. 

The program opened with Hope Boykin’s Finding Free, set to music by composer and pianist Matthew Whitaker. The opening is haunting, with spare, single tones echoing forebodingly as the lights come up to reveal the dancers spread across the stage, standing or stiffly swaying, as if in chains. The costumes, a collaboration between Boykin and longtime Ailey Wardrobe Supervisor Jon Taylor, are magnificent, morphing from rigid, sleeveless belted trenchcoat-like dresses to diaphanous shifts (with multiple looks in between) as the dance progresses; the dancers moving with greater freedom and abandon too. 

It’s a curious piece, with some stunning passages, and Boykin is one of the best at extracting moments of sublime peace from intricate and busy group dances, but it doesn’t quite hang together. She boldly includes multiple sections in silence, but when interspersed with music that rarely has a clear beginning or end, the audience struggles to know when the section is over and they should clap. 

Jessica Amber Pinkett danced the lead solo on Thursday bringing great feeling to the role. Of course, she’s literally tied up so it’s difficult to showcase her dancing. But Ailey is never about just dancing, it’s about artists communicating something about themselves that hopefully resonates with others. While this work feels unfinished it’s nonetheless a good vehicle for that communication. 

The second premiere was Jamar Roberts’ Al-Andalus Blues, evoking the history of the Moors who ruled Andalusia until the capture of Granada in 1492. The movement is forceful, even violent at times, reflecting the toughness of life as they fought to retain their land. Here the score better served the work, guiding the audience first through the agony of losing territory and then through a softer lament. 

Neither new works feels like something that will be around long into the future, but both reflect the company’s ongoing investment in new choreography which is noble in and of itself. 

Ailey has always been a company that honored individuals and gave a home (and often starring roles) to dancers who may not have fit in elsewhere. This season’s standout is Patrick Coker, who was featured in all three works on Thursday’s program for good reason. Now in his sixth season with the company, Coker milks each movement to the max, surprising me multiple times in his ability to suspend just a bit longer or hold his gaze just a bit higher without ever being late to the music. His relatively short stature is celebrated, where in a more traditional dance company he might have been relegated to demi-character roles, and he, in turn, seems to dance with every fiber of his being, creating the illusion of being seven feet tall. Kudos to Ailey for nurturing this talent. 

The program closed with Revelations, Alvin Ailey’s tribute to human resilience set to spirituals, gospel and blues. An encore-machine if there ever was one, it’s easy to assume the performance will be rote given how frequently it is performed, but I found myself drawn to new aspects and newer performers, another testament to the supreme artistry of the dancers. Miranda Quinn in the Fix Me, Jesus, section and Xavier Mack in I Wanna Be Ready were outstanding, with centered, strong dancing furthering the vulnerability they portrayed. And these are just two moments of many. While I may joke from time to time that I never need to see Revelations again, another viewing is hardly a hardship and often rewarded. 

Performances run through Sunday, February 9. Check specific performances for repertory and casting details. 

Runtime: 2 hours, 20 minutes with two intermissions

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