Win tickets to see Alvin Ailey in NYC!

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the New York City Center stage from December 2 to January 3 for the 45th consecutive year. [Find out how to enter to win tickets below!]

In his fifth season as artistic director, Robert Battle is continuing the expansion of the company’s diverse repertory by commissioning premieres and new productions that give Ailey’s extraordinary dancers many opportunities to inspire audiences. 

The five weeks of exhilarating performances include:

– Awakening, the eagerly-awaited world premiere by Robert Battle (his first since becoming artistic director) set to the complex orchestral music of composer John Mackey.

– Open Door, Ronald K. Brown’s sixth Ailey world premiere, driven by the music of Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra.

– Untitled America: First Movement, a world premiere by MacArthur “Genius” Kyle Abraham. Set to music by Laura Mvula, it is the first installment of a three-part piece that addresses the lineage of families affected by the injustices of the incarceration system. The remainder of the timely work will unfold over the next two Ailey seasons. 

– Piazzola Caldera, a company premiere of modern dance master Paul Taylor’s sizzling ballet capturing the essence of tango.

– A new production of Blues Suite, created in 1958 for the company’s first-ever performance. The piece conjures Alvin Ailey’s “blood memories” of rural, Depression-era southern Texas, and will be performed with a live onstage band.

– A new production of Cry, the physically and emotionally demanding solo created on Judith Jamison in 1971. It was a birthday present for Alvin Ailey’s mother and is dedicated to “all black women everywhere – especially our mothers.”

– A new production of Love Songs, choreographed for the recently deceased Ailey legend Dudley Williams in 1972 by Alvin Ailey to music by Donny Hathaway and Nina Simone.

– Returning premieres from the company’s spring New York season at Lincoln Center, including: Exodus, a world premiere by bold hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris; Robert Battle’s powerful and acclaimed No Longer Silent, which brings to life the music of Erwin Schulhoff who was silenced by the Nazis; Talley Beatty’s Toccata staged 20 years after his passing; and Judith Jamison’s sensual A Case of You duet from Reminiscin’, performed to Diana Krall’s version of the Joni Mitchell song by the same title. 

– Encore performances of notable ballets from Ailey’s past seasons will also be presented, including Matthew Rushing’s uplifting ODETTA, Christopher Wheeldon’s dreamlike After the Rain Pas de Deux, Ronald K. Brown’s spiritually-charged works Grace and Four Corners, and Hofesh Shechter’s primal Uprising.

– Special performances include programs featuring All New works; All Ailey, featuring company founder Alvin Ailey’s works; Ailey Visionaries Programs highlighting work from the three Artistic Directors in the company’s history; a New Year’s Eve 50th Anniversary Tribute to Judith Jamison featuring the legendary Cry solo she unforgettably originated; and live music accompanying select performances of Alvin Ailey’s Blues Suite and Revelations.

To win a pair of tickets to Ailey’s performance at New York City Center on Sunday, December 13, email info@danceinforma.com with the answer to this question: What choreographer will premiere his new work Open Door this season? Please title the email “Ailey NYC Giveaway.” Please provide your full name and date of birth. This competition opens November 24 and closes December 9. Enter to win now!

Be on the lookout for an interview with Ailey dancer Belen Pereya in the December edition. In the past, Pereya has received rave reviews for her performances in works by choreographer Ronald K. Brown. She will talk to Dance Informa about Brown’s lastest work, Open Door.

Photo: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Photo by Andrew Eccles.