Whitney Museum Traces Decorated Career of Visionary Choreographer Alvin Ailey
Celebrating his enduring legacy in a retrospective with a full-length reimagination of his most famous work.
Alvin Ailey’s Revelations first premiered back in 1958, only a few years after his arrival in New York. The piece was the first of many prominent works by the artist and choreographer, leaving its mark on the dance world forever. He cut the original 16 sections down to three in order to take it across the country, and it’s been kept short ever since. While it’s been six decades since the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater last performed the original piece, the spirit of Revelations is set to return to the stage.
Next month, choreographer Matthew Rushing will resurrect a full-length version of Ailey’s signature work at the Whitney Museum‘s third-floor theater in a performance entitled Sacred Songs. Tracing through the soul of Black spirituality and gospel, Rushing captures the essence of Ailey’s initial vision in movement and emotion. The show features some of the spirituals used in the original version of Revelations alongside new iterations. He worked with the company’s music director Du’Bois A’Keen to reimagine all the songs through a myriad of genres rooted in Black culture, including rock ‘n’ roll, gospel, R&B and hip hop.
Rushing first joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a dancer in 1992. Although he never got to meet the founder after his death in 1989, he continues to honor Ailey’s leadership and creative legacy in his current role as interim artistic director at the company. Celebrating the community and sheer joy of dance, he conjures a cast of company professionals and regulars at Ailey Extension’s dance classes. “I don’t think it’s ever been done before. And it’s a beautiful picture of what the organization stands for,” he notes.
Sacred Songs will take part in the performances series of Edges of Ailey, the Ailey’s monumental retrospective currently on view at the Whitney Museum . The first of its kind, the exhibition presents a massive display of rare archives, including interviews, programs, short stories, letters, poems, choreographic notebooks and performance footage. Featuring pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rashid Johnson and Kara Walker, the exhibition encompasses artworks by over 80 artists, organized by several themes that shaped his creative and personal life.
Ailey’s presence is felt in every corner of the gallery, glowing through his early influences to contemporary proteges. As his iconic dance group continues to bloom, the retrospective celebrates the profound and poetic work of one of the most visionary choreographers of the 20th century.
Tickets for Sacred Songs are now available at the New York City Center website for performances from December 4, 2024 through Ailey’s birthday on January 5, 2025. The retrospective exhibition, Edges of Ailey, is now open at the Whitney Museum through February 9, 2025. For more information about visiting or performance programming, head to the museum’s website.
Whitney Museum of American Art
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