Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Robert Battle, artistic director
Matthew Rushing, associate artistic director
“Eavesdrop pre-curtain at Bay Area dance shows and you’ll hear audience members sharing their top dance memories. High on almost everyone’s list? Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at UC Berkeley” (San Francisco Chronicle). Continuing a tradition that dates to the late 1960s, the breathtaking Ailey dancers return for the company’s annual campus residency. Ailey artistic director Robert Battle continues to double down on the values that make this ensemble a crown jewel among American companies: artistic excellence, daring innovation, and profound cultural relevance. Three programs this year feature captivating dance from Battle, Jamar Roberts, and Kyle Abraham; eye-opening new company productions of works from American masters Twyla Tharp and Paul Taylor; the Bay Area premiere of a new production of Survivors, first created by Alvin Ailey in 1986 as a tribute to Nelson and Winnie Mandela; and a selection of Ailey classics, including the ever-popular Revelations—all honoring the timeless Ailey legacy of telling powerful and life-affirming stories through stunning dance.
Run time for this performance is approximately 2 hours including two intermissions for all performances.
Due to a policy of the artist, there will be no late seating until after the first piece, which is 20 to 30 minutes into the programs.
PROGRAM A (Tue, Apr 11, 7:30pm & Fri, Apr 14, 8pm) |
|
| TWYLA THARP | Roy’s Joys (1997/2022; Company West Coast Premiere; music: Roy Eldridge) |
| ROBERT BATTLE | Unfold (2007; music: Gustave Charpentier (“Depuis Le Jour” from Louise; sung by Leontyne Price) |
| ROBERT BATTLE | For Four (2021; music: Wynton Marsalis) |
| ALVIN AILEY | Revelations (1960; music: traditional spirituals) |
PROGRAM B (Wed, Apr 12, 7:30pm & Sat, Apr 15, 8pm) |
|
| JAMAR ROBERTS | In a Sentimental Mood (2022; Bay Area Premiere; music: Duke Ellington and Rafiq Bhatia) |
| PAUL TAYLOR | DUET (1964/2022; Company West Coast Premiere; music: Franz Josef Haydn) |
| ALVIN AILEY and MARY BARNETT | Survivors (1986/New Production 2022; Bay Area Premiere; music: Max Roach [“Survivors” and “Triptych,” strings orchestrated by Peter Phillips]) |
| KYLE ABRAHAM | Are You in Your Feelings? (2022; Bay Area Premiere; music: mixtape of soul, hip-hop, and R&B) |
PROGRAM C (Thu, Apr 13, 7:30pm; Sat, Apr 15, 2pm; Sun, Apr 16, 3pm) |
|
| ALVIN AILEY | Night Creature (1974; music: Duke Ellington) |
| ROBERT BATTLE | For Four (2021; music: Wynton Marsalis) |
| ALVIN AILEY | Cry (1971; music: Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro, & Chuck Griffin) |
| ALVIN AILEY | Revelations (1960; music: traditional spirituals) |