Celebrating its 65th anniversary this year, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater met a welcoming audience of all ages for its Friday night performance during Black History Month in the Opera House of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Kennedy Center) in Washington, DC.

There were three movements of the night punctuated by two intermissions. The first movement, “Following the Subtle Current Upstream,” was choreographed by Alonzo King, a former San Francisco commissioner, who is also a writer, lecturer on humanity and the arts, and named a Master of Choreography by the Kennedy Center in 2005. This movement depicts the relationship of the human spirit and nature through an electric blend of classical, contemporary, and modern dance forms reflecting the ebbs and flows of the soul on its often colorful journey through life. The dancers (Khalia Campbell, Isaiah Day, Coral Dolphin, Samantha Figgins, James Gilmer, Ashley Katlynn Green, Michael Jackson, Jr., Ashley Mayeux, and Christopher R. Wilson) gave soulful performances to a unique score by Zakir Hussain, Miguel Frasconi, and Miriam Makeba.

The second movement  was the 2023 production of “Dancing Spirit,” choreographed by Ronald K. Brown. The audience was mesmerized as the Ailey dancers (Hannah Alissa Richardson, Deidre Rogan, Yazzmeen Laidler, Jacquelin Harris, Solomon Dumas, Jermaine Terry, Renaldo Maurice, Michael Jackson, Jr. , and Patric Coker) gave tribute to Judith Jamison. Brown’s “Dancing Spirit” pays homage to famed Judith Jamison’s deep impact on American dance history, becoming the first African American woman to direct a major modern dance company.

Jamison joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a dancer in 1965 and later became its artistic director. She established the official school of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater after Ailey’s death in 1989 after having already founded and run her own 12-person dance troupe called the Jamison Project in the 1980s. 

The Ailey dancers captivated the Kennedy Center audience as they danced to an eclectic score featuring music by Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis, Radiohead, and Vitamin String Quartet.

Brown integrates and weaves a beautiful tapestry of movements reflecting various Afro-Latin dance forms from Cuba, Brasil, and the United States to imbue the audience with Jamison’s grace, class, and impeccable style. 

And last but certainly not least, the third and final movement was the crowd favorite “Revelations” (1960), choreographed by Alvin Ailey himself. Any newcomer could tell immediately by the jovial applause and gasps of anticipation that “Revelations” is what keeps long-time, dedicated, DC-based fans of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returning to the Kennedy Center every February during Black History Month experience. I’m proud to say that I’m in this camp. Ever since my mom Andreanette took me and our family friends to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida in the 1990s, it has been an annual goal of mine to see them perform. It has become tradition. 

I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the Ailey troupe perform “Revelations” numerous times since I made the Washington, DC area home 18 years ago. My favorite choreography pieces of this movement include “Wade in the Water,” “Sinner Man,”  “I Wanna Be Ready,” and “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.”

“Wade in the Water” is an ode to the traditional baptism ceremony that takes place in a river and is symbolic of cleansing and rebirth. Dancers included Samantha Figgins, Solemn Dumas, and Corrin Rachelle Mitchell. “I Wanna Be Ready”, performed by Vernard J. Gilmore, reflected the hope of people in the African diaspora in America of someday being free. The dancers (Isaiah Day, James Gilmer, and Xavier Mack Roberts) performing “Sinner Man” gave a stellar performance. The closing number, “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham,” performed by The Company, did just that — rocked all of our souls. 

Final Grade: A

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater plays at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts every February during Black History Month. Tickets start at $49 and are available at https://www.kennedy-center.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/dance/2023-2024/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater/, by phone at (202) 467-4600 or Toll-Free: (800) 444-1324, and via email at https://www.kennedy-center.org/contact/tickets-cs-form-page/. 

Running Time: 1 hour and 59 minutes with two intermissions

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Candace Webb

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