Review: ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER at The Kennedy Center

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre has come once again to the Kennedy Center with its traditional greats and some surprisingly contemporary.

The evening opens with In a Sentimental Mood choreographed by Jamar Roberts during his residency at Ailey in 2022. This performance is a fever dream of power and passion performed by company members Ghrai DeVore-Stokes and Chalvar Monteiro. The scenery and costumes, also by Roberts, along with the dramatic lighting by Brandon Sterling Baker create a haunting scene in which Devor-Stokes and Monteiro toil. This pairs well in juxtaposition to the 1964 modern classic Duet by Paul Taylor which depicts a pair of lovers (Belén Indhira Pereyra and Patrick Coker) who have nothing but each other and are harmoniously intertwined throughout the number.

Are you in your feelings? Is such a sweet surprise in the center of the program. Kyle Abrahams signature style bending choreography is set to some of today's most vibey hip-hop and R&B hits from Jazmine Sullivan to Drake, Summer Walker, Kendrick Lamar, Erykah Badu and performed by The Company under a neon lined backdrop and similar costumes. This vibrant representation of the evolution of dating relationships between millennial men and women features a touch of vogue as well as one of the most emphatic nae nae's I've ever seen.

The Integrity of Sweat in Alvin Ailey's Revelations is as true, timeless, and distinctly Black American as the writings of Baldwin or Morrison, as the lyrics to "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing". The crowd erupts in anticipatory applause at the sound of "I Been Buked". The Lights come up on The Company in that famous formation and the room shifts to a space irrespective of time. There is a weight, a silent understanding between the crowd and audience of the importance of Ailey's 1960 choreography carries us to the bank of a River baptism, through the flames of refinement and we are reminded of the beauty in the struggle of coming into form agaisnt all odds in this country.

The show is emblematic of Black Love, Black Futures and a history of excellence. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is at the Kennedy Center through February 12.

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