Anyone who vows to get in shape for the New Year should get tickets to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. The strong muscular bodies of the Ailey dancers maneuvering through space with exuberance and joy will inspire you. The music will start you bopping. Currently in season at the City Center and in the Spring at BAM, the Ailey Company is an American treasure.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was founded in 1958 by modern dancer Alvin Ailey, who wanted to establish a company that would – as we learned from a quote by Ailey himself that was incorporated into “Love Stories”, a piece in the performance I attended on the evening of December 27^th that had the audience singing, clapping and dancing up the aisles as they left the theater – “become a headquarters for modern dance” and also feature predominantly African-American dancers. Ailey can be seen at City Center each Winter, this year through January 3rd, and at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in the Spring. In 2008, it was proclaimed Alvin Ailey Week at the Howard Gilman Opera House from June 3rd through the 8^th to honor the 50^th anniversary of the Company.

“Love Stories”, choreographed by Rennie Harris (a renowned hip-hop dancer/choreographer, Judith Jamison, a long-time Ailey dancer, now the Artistic Director of the company, and Robert Battle, opens with a single light ascending to the sky amid darkness.  Low, gurgling music is heard, and light pours in from stage left, recalling the morning sun. A figure on stage in loose, casual clothing with impossibly long, robust arms is stirred to movement by Stevie Wonder’s raw voice in his “If It’s Magic”, only to be still and bask in the illusion of sunlight from above at the end. Next, dancers converge on the stage in a rehearsal-like atmosphere, donning loose, neutral clothing and engage in casual partnering, creating an environment of improvisation, finishing movements with a flourish, each couple perhaps trying to one-up the last. An Afro-Caribbean beat starts, and my eye immediately finds a female dancer in red capris.  She is the one I focus on, as she makes the choreography her own, with an ability to sit on the beat giving the illusion of her dancing not with, but within the music. A costume change next has the dancers in sneakers and exercise clothing and ushers in a seamless shift in choreographic style to incorporate more hip-hop. Choreographed in 2004, undertones of modern street dance influences are especially evident now, and really showcase the ability of the female dancers. No doubt Rennie Harris’s influence was the incorporation of a circular formation, referred to as “the circle” in b-boy culture, during which dancers take brief turns performing for and impressing each other.

Second was the late Ulysses Dove’s “Episodes”, choreographed in 1987. Jamison has made the choice to keep the piece in the Ailey repertory, a testament to it’s enduring appeal. Immediately, from the music and choreography, I sense the feeling of struggle. Initially, the music repeats the lyric “come on” and the dancer is folded over, clasping his hands behind his knees. Variations of male-female and male-male partnerships, duets, quartets and trios are choreographed on the diagonal. Dramatic black costumes reveal the women’s bare legs and emphasize their muscularity. Powerful entrances and jumps make you gasp. There are sensual themes of dominance and submission and challenges. Dove’s piece has stood the test of time, resting on the observer’s projections of how and why the dancers come together and break apart.

The last piece on the program, “Revelations” choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, undoubtedly will continue to enliven and delight audiences for many years to come. The power of “Revelations” rests in its message, a depiction of the range of human experience related to the history of African Americans. Traditional gospel music and choreography are interwoven with strong emotion and portray both great sadness and great joy. The dancers begin dressed in earth tones, the women in long skirts, and men with fishnet shirts. They transition to white clothing, women in white dresses with ruffles along the low collar. For “Wade in the Water”, the dance performed by three dancers, one woman carrying the iconic white umbrella that seemingly signifies this piece, is grounded and circular in movement, danced amidst filmy long sheets floating slightly above the stage to create the illusion of a river. Later, the women don rust-colored clothing, hold large straw fans and wear large “Sunday” hats. The piece is partially performed with the women sitting on stools, waving their fans, and evoking the spirit of a lively church service.  “Revelations” invariably inspires the audience to clap and move to the upbeat rhythms.

What a wonderful way to bring 2009 to a close: by attending a performance of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at City Center. With programs that are perpetually inspiring, uplifting, and impressive, I am always inspired to dance again when I see Ailey, and there is no better way to usher in the New Year than with a resolution to take more classes at the Ailey Extension. Maybe I’ve convinced you to joining me in looking out for Ailey at BAM again this Spring!