Alvin Ailey’s 2013 Opening Night Gala

Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 2013-14 season at New York City Center kicked off on December 4 with an Opening Night Gala Benefit hosted by Honorary Co-Chair and actress Gabrielle Union. The evening helped raise over $2.4 million for the creation of new works and Alvin Ailey’s extensive educational programs for young people, including AileyCamp and scholarships to The Ailey School.

The curtain went up with an exhilarating company premiere of Wayne McGregor’s Chroma, a ballet filled with layered, beautiful dancing, astonishing lifts and a luminous set. The Ailey company premiere, made possible with generous support of New York City Center, marks the first time a work by this multi award-winning British choreographer appears in the Ailey repertory. The gala performance concluded with Alvin Ailey’s timeless masterpiece, Revelations, which was accompanied by live music.

The celebration continued at the gala party in the Hilton New York’s Grand Ballroom with Ailey’s Board of Trustees led by Chair Joan Weill and President Daria L. Wallach, and 1,000 guests including model’s Joan Smalls and Carolyn Murphy, actor Taye Diggs, chef Marcus Samuelsson, actor/singer Tristan “Mack Wilds”, opera star Jessye Norman, Elaine Wynn of Wynn Resorts and many more who joined in dinner and dancing with the stars of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. To see photos of this event, click here.

Ailey’s exciting season, the 25th since the passing of legendary founder Alvin Ailey, continues throughout the holidays in New York, then tours 23 cities across North America beginning in February. For more information, visit www.alvinailey.org.

Photo: From left, Eric and Daria L. Wallach, Actress and Honorary Chair Gabrielle Union, Artistic Director Robert Battle, and Joan and Sanford Weill at Alvin Ailey’s 2013 Opening Night Gala in New York City. Photo by Christopher Duggan, courtesy of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.