Dance All Night
May 8th, 2007 by Ingrid
I saw the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform several years ago and never forgot it. The African American dance troupe—which was founded by dance great Alvin Ailey in 1958 and is considered one of the best modern dance companies in the world—was incredible. Its jaw-dropping athleticism, thrilling choreography, and a palpable passion courses through every piece they perform.
So a few weeks ago, in a spring-induced moment of culture craving, I e-mailed a dance-minded friend of mine and told her we were going to see Alvin Ailey. Turns out what I actually got were tickets to Ailey II—the Ailey School’s company of its most promising scholarship students. But let’s just say “promising” is an understatement. These students can dance, and are no doubt headed for very big things.
It’s really cool to go to something like this and be transfixed, moved, and genuinely bowled over by sheer physical feats all at the same time. (As a former gymnast—who, unbelievably enough, did a gymnastics dance to an Enya song for a Junior Miss pageant—this kind of thing really does it for me.) Favorites? The James Bond-themed “Bitter Suite” complete with slinky black costumes; the classic solo “Divining” with its haunting score; and “The Hunt”—a seriously percussive, seriously testosterone-driven, all-male affair with dancers dressed in Samurai-like skirts sweating through intense choreography that was exhausting to watch much less (I’m sure) dance.
It was all awesome and made me think how appreciative those dancers must be to get up every morning and quite literally throw themselves into something so passionate and stimulating and amazing. Pretty awesome.