The company was founded in 1958; this was incredible because of the intense prejudice taking place at this time, not only were they a black company but they created a unique new kind- of dance mixing together for the first time; ballet, traditional African American dance, and modern. This was all possible thanks to dancer and choreographer Mr. Alvin Ailey. Ailey had a unique philosophy. He made use of any technique or style because for him it was about the choreography and the “theatrical “moment in dance.
He wanted from his dancers a long unbroken leg line and deftly articulated legs and feet: a ballet bottom combined with a dramatically expressive upper torso: a modern top. “What I like is the line and technical range that classical ballet gives to the body. But I still want to project to the audience the expressiveness that only modern dance offers, especially for the inner king of things” Also unique was Ailey ability to create partnerships, so he had places to practice and perform, his driving energy and flexibility. Not only did he create the ability to perform, he took it on the road with “station wagon tours”.
The first performance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre was at the New York’s 92nd Street Young Men’s Hebrew Association, under the name Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the production consisted of seven dancers and the artistic director. Thus Ailey was, at this point, the company’s director, choreographer, and principle dancer. They became a resident company of the 51st Street YWCA’s Clark Center for the Performing Arts. It was during this period that Ailey choreographed his famous work Revelations, a character dance done to traditional music.
The Essay on Alvin Ailey Dance Company Black
... New Book of Knowledge 587). In Ailey's dance company, there was one dancer that Ailey admired. Her name was Judith Jamison. ... named it, "The Alvin Ailey Dance Company.' The purpose of this dance company is "to enrich American modern dance heritage and preserving the ... unique richness that is unique among dance schools.' (Willinger 4). People who have a very strong love for dance like to remember Ailey ...
Two years later, Ailey changed his all-black dance company into a multi-racial group, believing that there was a kind of reverse effect to anything all black. In the same year, the company was chosen to tour the Far East, Southeast Asia and Australia as part of President John F. Kennedy’s “President’s Special International Program for Cultural Presentations. ” Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was the first “Black” company to travel for Kennedy’s program. This was an absolutely incredible accomplishment not to be over looked.
This prompted Judith Jamison, star of the company for more than ten years, to join the company in 1965. Ailey established a school in 1969, the same year that the company moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Both company and school relocated to 229 East 59th Street in Manhattan a year later. In April of that year, a financial crisis caused Ailey to issue a statement that the dissolution of the company might take place. The crisis abated, however, and in 1971 AAADT made its first performance at the New York City Center, where it is currently the resident company.
Associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya whose foundation was in classic Japanese ballet bring to the company an incredible attention to detail and form joined the company in 1972. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble (which was the Ailey touring company), and the Ailey school relocated in 1980 to four new studios in a building on Broadway. The company celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary three years later. Alvin Ailey died on December 1 of 1989.
Judith Jamison whose background is American classic ballet was very interested in African heritage and when she assumed the post of Artistic Director, went on the create many pieces that reflected that interest. The Ailey School and nearby Fordham College at Lincoln Center, Fordham University, have since affiliated to offer a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree program. This is the university and the program I am applying to next year and hope to be attending after I graduate. The Ailey School is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance.
Year Round School Persuasive Essay
Education is the fundamental key to our everyday lives. Knowledge is what keeps our economic growth possible. We are all taught, since childhood, that learning is a way to empower one’s self, which is why our school systems are an important part of our society. Recently, a debate has emerged as whether the year round calender is better for our students than our current ten month calender ...
The Ailey School is recognized by the U. S. Department of Education as an institution of higher education and is eligible to participate in Title IV programs. The Ailey School is authorized under Federal Law to enroll non-immigrant alien students. Following tours in Russia, France and Cuba in the 1990s, as well as a residency in South Africa in 1997, the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation announced in 2001 that a new dance complex was to be developed. Ground was broken on the building site in Manhattan the following year. The company and school moved into the building, named the Joan Weill Center for Dance, in 2004.
The company toured Russia and the United Kingdom the following year. For more than half a century, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has brought African-American cultural expression and the American modern dance tradition to the world’s stages. Under the leadership of new Artistic Director Robert Battle, the Ailey legacy continues: the artistry, grace, and vitality of the company’s beautiful dancers and their splendid technique and style continue to dazzle audiences around the globe. They stick with some traditional dances for every performance; I Wanna Be Ready, Sinner Man, and Wade in the Water being among my favorites.
This is because they are absolutely stunning visual representations of a hardship I was previously rather naive about. As well as always incorporating new pieces into the performances ever year. In 2011, I was lucky enough to witness “Urban Folk Dance” was the story of two modern couples who cheated on each other, how the two couples dealt with such news side by side The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed for an estimated 21 million people in 48 states, as well as 71 countries on six continents.
Among these performances are included two South African residencies. The company has often been an ambassador for American culture, starting with President John F. Kennedy’s Southeast Asia tour program. The troupe toured Southeast Asia and Australia in 1962, and performed in the International Arts Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1963. They performed at the first World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal in 1966.
The Essay on Limon Dance Company Piece Performed Champion
Limon Dance Company is the nation's oldest modern-dance company. Jose Limon established Limon in 1946. In the beginning the company only survived by word of mouth but eventually grew to be one of the Nations best and well-known Modern Dance Company's. The Limon Dance Company survived with many of its original dance's intact, these dances preserve the legacy of mid-century choreographers and showed ...
The same year, AAADT performed at the Edinburgh festival, earning awards for “best choreographer”, and “best company”. They were also awarded “best male dancer” at the International Dance Festival in Paris in 1970, the same year that they did a six city tour of the USSR. The company and its dancers and artistic staff have been recognized as cultural ambassadors numerous times, as in the 2001 awarding of the National Medal of Arts to both Judith Jamison and the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation.
Founder Alvin Ailey created more than 79 dances for his company during his tenure; he also maintained, however, that the company was not solely a repository for his choreography. Hence AAADT has a repertory of more than 200 works by over seventy choreographers, including such choreographers as Ulysses Dove, Karole Armitage, Uri Sands, Elisa Monte, Talley Beatty, Katherine Dunham and Twyla Tharp (whose work The Golden Section, excerpted from her larger ballet, The Catherine Wheel, entered AAADT’s repertory in 2006).
The company keeps Alvin Ailey’s works, including Revelations, Night Creature and Cry, in continuous performance. Memoria was one of Alvin Ailey’s balletic pieces, with long lines and a clear technical style different from his usual jazz character style of swirling patters, strong, driving arm movements, huge jumps, and thrusting steps. This dance was later adopted into the repertory of the Royal Danish Ballet. Cry is a three-part, twenty-minute solo created for Judith Jamison.
It was meant to pay homage to all black women, and can be seen as a journey from degradation to pride, defiance, and survival. Cry has great physical and emotional demands on both performer and audience. The company’s popularity comes from its theatrical, extroverted style of dancers with strong personalities and muscular skill. It is expressed best by artistic director Masazumi Chaya “It is an emotional rollercoaster of modern urban life” The company though artistry helps us understand modern life.
The Term Paper on The Life And Times Of Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931 in Rogers, Texas to Lula Elizabeth Ailey. Lula was only 17 years old at the time of his birth. His father abandoned the family when Alvin was only six months old. Because the era Alvin was born in was the Great Depression, the Aileys moved around often. Growing up during the great depression also meant that his mother had a hard time finding work. ...
