Ailey's Homecoming Season Continues At New York City Center

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues its homecoming season on Tuesday, December 7th with the premiere of a Battle 10th Anniversary program, marking a decade of Artistic Director Robert Battle's visionary leadership that has moved the Company forward in exciting ways.

The program features a new production of Robert Battle's sensuous, swirling duet Unfold, evoking the tenderness and ecstasy in Gustave Charpentier's aria "Depuis Le Jour" sung by the incomparable Leontyne Price. The evening also includes Ella, For Four, In/Side, Love Stories finale, Mass, and Takademe.

The program repeats on Saturday, December 11 at 8pm (when a portion of the proceeds will go to the Ailey Dancers' Resource Fund, which assists current and former company members with grants for career transition, creative endeavors, or emergency loans) and on Friday, December 17 at 8pm.

On Thursday, December 9, Celebrating Jamar Roberts is a farewell performance for someone who has left an indelible mark as a dancer over two decades and is now making compelling dances as Ailey's Resident Choreographer that engage artfully with contemporary issues such as gun violence and-most recently-the devastating effect the pandemic and police misconduct have had on Black bodies and Black lives. Before leaping to the forefront of creating dance on film during the pandemic, Roberts' dancing has thrilled Ailey audiences, receiving rave reviews since 2002. Roberts was awarded an Outstanding Performer 2016 Bessie Award for Sustained Achievement "for impeccably representing the traditional values of classic modern dance while forging new paths with his sublime artistry, technical precision, and passionate presence with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater." The program will feature his Holding Space, special performances by Roberts in Alvin Ailey's Revelations, a newly created solo, You Are The Golden Hour That Would Soon Evanesce performed live by pianist Jason Moran and set to "Only the Shadow Knows (Honey)" and more. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Dancers Responding to AIDS.

Additional special programs this week include All Ailey, on Wednesday, December 8 and Saturday, December 12, comprised entirely of works by Alvin Ailey: Memoria, a touching and powerful tribute to his perennial friend and prolific dance mentor Joyce Trisler, a new production of the strong yet serene solo Reflections in D, and his signature masterpiece Revelations; and Ailey & Ellington featuring new productions of The River and Pas de Duke, Reflections in D, and Revelations on Friday, December 10 and Tuesday, December 14.

For more information, visit alvinailey.org.