Why it’s called American Street Dancer
Books are banned, DEI scuttled, and Africanist studies scaled back. Yet, the irrepressible spirit of African American artists is not extinguished.
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The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater held a blink-or-you’ll-miss-it run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music this week. Ambitiously, the troupe alternated two programs and changed up casting a remarkable amount for so few shows. The programs, titled Contemporary Visions and All Ailey, were split into newer works (all were listed as new productions in 2023) and older company classics (including the stalwart “Revelations”). I wish I could’ve gone multiple times to see the various pieces and interpreters. I particularly wanted to see “Revelations” in the warm weather. Like the song “My Favorite Things” from the Sound of Music, “Revelations” has been coopted by the holiday season. The AADT performs it without fail at their City Center residency each December. Although I now associate it with mistletoe and holly, it really is a summery piece—with its sun umbrellas and fans and hazy amber lighting. Sigh, maybe next time. I did, however, make it to the contemporary program on opening night. It was a brief affair—running just an hour with an intermission—but the works were rich and the dancers were great, so I didn’t feel slighted. If you tacked on a nice dinner afterward it was a perfect night.
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Books are banned, DEI scuttled, and Africanist studies scaled back. Yet, the irrepressible spirit of African American artists is not extinguished.
Continue Reading“Lists of Promise,” a new work currently in a two-week run from March 13- 30 at the East Village cultural landmark, Theater for the New City, promised more than it delivered, at least for now.
Continue Reading“State of Heads” opens with a blaze of white light and loud clanking onto a white-suited Levi Gonzalez, part Elvis, part televangelist addressing his congregation. A pair of women sidle in—Rebecca Cyr and Donna Uchizono—dressed in ankle-length white dresses and cowered posture.
Continue ReadingThe late John Ashford, a pioneer in programming emerging contemporary choreographers across Europe, once told me that he could tell what sort of choreographer a young artist would turn into when watching their first creations.
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