AN EVENING WITH THE ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATRE

 

DIVINING: Choreography by Judith Jamison

REVELATIONS: Choreography by Alvin Ailey

THE STACK-UP: Choreography by Talley Beatty

CRY: Choreography by Alvin Ailey

Produced and Directed by THOMAS GRIMM

 

Picture Format: 16:9

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Menu Languages: GB, D, F, SP

Subtitle Languages: I, GB, D, F, SP

Running Time:

Region Code: 2, 5

Recording Date: 1986

 

"The Ailey dancers are still, as they always were, superb performers whose fine-tuned technique, strength, passion and exuberance can make even lesser works look glamorous." Times Online

 

In this brilliant studio recording, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - the US's boldest and most exciting dance company - brings its distinctive style to a wider audience. Dazzling, brash and dynamic, yet equally graceful and poetic, the company which in December 2003 celebrated its 45th anniversary here performs four unique works:

 

Divining was Judith Jamison's first major work as a choreographer for Alvin Ailey. The dance evokes a strong feeling for African tribal ritual and is set to hauntingly rhythmic drum music.

 

Revelations is often described as the company's signature tune and has become an American classic. It expresses Ailey's intense feelings for his roots in the South. Here you'll see Ailey's vivid "blood memories" of the blues, spirituals, gospel music, ragtime and folk songs as well as the hard life of the Southern black during the Depression.

 

Set to Modern Jazz, The Stack-Up takes place in modern-day Harlem. You'll witness the cruel reality of urban street life as a young man is destroyed by drugs.

 

Cry was choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1971 for Judith Jamison and is one of his most famous pieces. Created as a birthday present for his mother, it is Ailey's tribute to black women and inspires moving emotions with its portrayal of struggle, anger and most importantly, its feeling of celebration.

 

"Audiences streamed out into the street after Alvin Ailey's Revelations, babbling in tongues. It's been far too long since London last saw the company" The Observer

 

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