Alvin Ailey
Tonight, I kept up my semiannual tradition of attending the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s performance. Actually, I had planned on skipping it this year…by j. brotherlove
Tonight,
I kept up my semiannual tradition of attending the Alvin
Ailey American Dance Theater’s performance. Actually, I had planned
on skipping it this year but Loverboy wanted
to go because he’d never seen them perform. Although the emotions from
an early morning argument hung over us throughout the entire day, I was
still able to enjoy the performance.
I was impressed that the Fox was crowded with exuberant supporters. Overall, the program was representative of Alvin Ailey’s consistency. However, it is a blessing and a curse that Revelations remains the centerpiece with the most energy and technical accuracy.
There were other highlights: Serving Nia managed to translate a chaotic kickoff into a moving resolution. And Matthew Rushing’s solo interpretation of “A Song for You” was a stellar crowd pleaser. The Asian/minimalist/new age “Following the Subtle Current Upstream” got points from me for ambition and deviance from African American dance tradition. However, it didn’t completely satisfy my thirst for modern experimentation and it left many audience accustomed to more traditional dance scratching their heads.
I long for a controversial, head-spinning performance by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. I wonder if their performances are allowed in the Bible Belt. I’m kidding. I think.
under the influence of: Hunan Beef and Donnie Hathaway.