Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Warms Up in Philly on First Tour Stop

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater heated up a subdued and snow-drenched Philly audience January 28 - 30 with an admirable, often stunning return to the stage at the Kimmel Cultural Campus' Academy of Music, ending a long, pandemic-driven tour hiatus.

The New York modern dance company, internationally known for its captivating expressions of African American cultural history, split its performances into two programs, with Friday and Sunday featuring a selection of seven shorter works choreographed by 10-year company artistic director Robert Battle and Saturday reviving classic pieces from company founder Alvin Ailey himself.

Friday night commenced with Battle's Mass, set to composer John Mackey's specially composed piece of the same name. Resonant tones peaked like lens flares, timpani-strewn and piqued with xylophonic wonderment as dancers robed in pink and orange flowed into a clear, curious, alterless collective worship that at first recalled less a Catholic service than a Taoist monastery. As the dancers moved from that free bliss into a kind of troubled puppetry, backs stiffened, heads lifting and snapping sideways in uncanny unison, the unity of feeling spoke to how ready they were to be reunited onstage.

Group pieces like Mass are what stood out most on both nights, with excellent moments during For Four and Love Stories, along with the finale masterwork, Revelations. Certain solos felt like they were reacclimating to the spaciousness of the stage or attuning to their character narrative (and indeed, some, like Ghrai DeVore-Stokes in Ella, seemed to lock it in midway through). Outstanding solo work was, nevertheless, just as plentiful. Brandon Michael Woolridge danced with exemplary grace and timing in the frenetic Takademe, and Michael Jackson, Jr., opened the funky Love Stories excerpt with an ease and control so bursting with pent potential that I'm still hungry to see more.

First-season dancer Ashley Kaylynn Green made a breathtaking company debut at every turn, brimming with feeling. In For Four, a tumbling, troubled New York story, her emotive spasms swifted through punches, seductions, and shimmies, each motion explosive and tightly channeled, a combustion engine of emotional expression. Green owns the stage to its edges and lives the tumult of her character, packing years of backstory into a minute of movement. Watching her embody these pieces so early in her time with the company, one can only imagine what developments the coming months & years will bring.

With a repertory like Ailey's, expressiveness makes the difference between memorable and unforgettable. Revelations, of course, persists in being the company's piece de resistance, the feeling as fresh as if it were made for these very dancers. As the piece moves through tribulation to baptismal relief and dapper Sunday reincarnation, it's evident that this work has long been at the heart of the company.

Ailey's performances in Philly were a heartfelt display of re-attunement after a long absence from live theater, for the audience as well as the dancers. Saturday night saw a full standing ovation from a grateful, if diminished, audience. D.C. has plenty to look forward to next week, as does every city fortunate to be on the tour schedule.

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