STORIES BEHIND THE DANCES AND THE MUSIC TUESDAY, APRIL 9: Ailey honors modern dance tradition with
This is a special two-night-only engagement, La Jolla Music Society Presentation. Tell me about the show. Each show we do has multiple works in it. There are
four complete ballets ranging from six minutes up to 45 minutes in length. Each show is different and depends upon the decisions made by the artistic staff. Our show generally changes every night, the pieces and the casting will change, which requires a lot of rehearsals. Wow! Tell me about being an Ailey Dancer. It is incredible; there is a huge legacy and so high
a standard that has been set. I marvel at the quality of dancers I get to work with now. I don’t know a day that I go into work I am not inspired by people around me—every single person is trying to create excel- lence. We are asked to do every kind of movement
hours by bus we do that, if not we take a plane. There are 50 of us who travel, 20 dancers, then the crew and the artistic/creative people. We also travel with semis because we bring our own floor; that floor is a total blessing, it is sprung and great for dancers’ bodies. We get to a city, the crew loads in, everything is
arranged. We have a dressing room call at 12 noon. We find our theatre cases, all the costumes, make-up and stuff, plus our shoe bag with all our various shoes. There is a call-board posted in the dressing room, which shows your dressing room assignment, the shows we will be doing and the castings—plus physi- cal therapy appointments and other info. A rehearsal that lasts two to three hours is at 1p.m. and then we have a one-hour company class, leaving us one hour before the performance starts.
“I love this COMPANY because of the mission— GIVING DANCE BACK TO THE PEOPLE.”
and dance under the sun. Both at the Ailey school and in the company, every genre is explored and no stone is left unturned. I love this company because of the mission—giving dance back to the people. We work with all people; it is an international community. I am constantly inspired by how dance transcends language and culture. What would you tell someone who has never seen your company perform before? I would tell them that they are going to see 30 of
the most beautiful bodies move in ways you have never seen before. They will touch your spirit. This is where you want to be even if you are not into dance. Who doesn’t want to look at 30 of the most gorgeous, athletic people in the world? How do you keep yourself in shape mentally and physically? I started meditating years ago so that I could stay
centered, when things are a little crazy I can generally pinpoint the problem: I haven’t meditated in a few days. In terms of physical well-being, I love to swim. I go to the gym one day and the other day I swim or do weight-training—I also enjoy yoga. I am far less flexible than a lot of my fellow company members so I do a lot of yoga. Hot baths are really wonderful for flexibility and of course my body enjoys that as well. The company tours seven months out of the year, both here in the United States and internationally. Tell me about that process. We travel together by bus or plane, depending on the length of travel. If the travel time is less than six
Amazing. Do you have a favorite piece out of what you perform? My favorite ballet is the Masterwork Revelations. It
is by far one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen and I feel so fortunate and grateful to perform it. I also like a six-minute piece I have been solo perform- ing for six years. It is called Inside—a beautiful and moving piece. I also loveWild is the Wind, I’ve watched other dancers perform it in the company; it touches my heart every time. Tell me about the charitable work the Ailey Dance Theater is involved with right now. We donate proceeds to Dancers Responding to
AIDS from our shows and festivals and we’re always helping out at fundraisers in the greater New York area. Wherever we can do fundraising, the company is always willing, we also do outreach to the kids in larger cities. Most recently in Atlanta, we did a full pro- duction of Revelations for 4,000 students—kinder- garten through seniors in high school. We also have a sister company with nine younger dancers who do some of the same work we do—it offers them a free professional training ground. They perform at smaller locations for children and seniors organizations.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs at San Diego Copley Symphony Hall two nights only, Tuesday, April 9 and Wednesday, April 10. For tickets and more information call 858.459.3728 or go
toljms.org.
Arden Court, the bucolic masterpiece by Paul Taylor and the first work by this illustrious mas- ter to enter the Ailey repertory. Set to a series of excerpted symphonies by baroque composer William Boyce, Arden Court allows for the Ailey dancers to be at once both playful and majestic. Takademe is Robert Battle’s bravura work mixing humor and high-flying movement in a savvy deconstruction of Indian Kathak dance rhythms. Clear shapes and propulsive jumps mimic the vocalized syllables of Sheila Chan- dra’s syncopated score. For Battle, the work represents his modest beginnings as a dance- maker and reminds him of how far he’s come. Home, choreographed by bold hip-hop
choreographer Rennie Harris, is inspired by the stories of people living with or affected by HIV. Drawing upon poems and images submitted in 2011 to the Fight HIV Your Way contest, an initiative of Bristol-Myers Squibb, Harris created a compelling work that conveys both the chill- ing isolation and uplifting sense of community many experience. Revelations fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. Seeing it for the first time or the hundredth can be a tran- scendent experience, with audiences cheering, singing along and dancing in their seats.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10 From Before beautifully blends the rhythms
of African dance and Caribbean influences, with movements distilled to their purest form by Garth Fagan, the Tony Award-winning cho- reographer ofThe Lion King. Strange Humors by Ailey Artistic Director
Robert Battle is a thrillingly intense duet, set to John Mackey’s propulsive score for strings and African drum that pits two men against each other. Surprising sequences ignite with aggres- sion and discord, mischievousness and humor, as the relationship between the two dancers builds to an exciting crescendo. Another Night, by rising young choreog-
rapher Kyle Abraham, innovatively fuses the many dynamic facets of American dance and showcases the artistry and versatility of the Ai- ley dancers. Set to Art Blakey and The Jazz Mes- senger’s rendition of one of Dizzy Gillespie’s seminal compositions. Revelations fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. Seeing it for the first time or the hundredth can be a tran- scendent experience, with audiences cheering, singing along and dancing in their seats.
MARCH 2013 | RAGE monthly MARCH 2013 | RAGE monthly 13
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