Les étés de la danse 2015: Alvin Ailey

[SheilaC]

I attended the matinee yesterday, of a quadruple bill, on a day trip via Eurostar.

 

The choreography was all by Ailey and three of the pieces were based on music by Duke Ellington, in one case, The River, created specifically for the ballet through a direct collaboration between these two iconic African-Americans. The most balletic of all the pieces, The River, was commissioned by ABT and includes a pas de deux created on Erik Bruhn and Natatlia Makarova. I recall seeing it when ABT visited London in the early 70s. This version was later revised by Ailey for his own company, removing the pointe work and reducing the number of sections to eight.

 

The other two Ellington pieces were Night Creature (which Festival Ballet used to perform) and Pas de Duke, which was created on the remarkable Judith Jamieson, former dancer and later artistic director of the company, and Baryshnikov. Whilst I was very glad to see the ballets again I did feel that they had dated somewhat,  in terms both of ethnic representation and of dance aesthetics. The dancers were, as ever, supremely enthusiastic but don't have quite the style and control now displayed by dancers who are trained in the major ballet academies.

 

The final piece was the signature Ailey ballet Revelations, based on negro-spirituals (the official programme uses this description). It is astonishing that after so many thousands of performances the company still presents it so freshly, dancing with such fervour yet with controlled discipline in the group sections. The religious passion is deeply moving even to an non-believer. The performance ended with both the customary wild applause and the encored Rock My Soul. It was utterly moving; not least remembering the unforgettable Dudley Williams, who performed I Wanna Be Ready with deep conviction thousands of times, even when in his 50s and virtually unable to walk; he recently died. RIP.

 

At one time the Ailey company visited Britain frequently, touring widely and always enthusiastically received. It is time they came again, they would reach out to a broad section, not just the traditional dance audience.

 

Finally, given the discussion on this and another theme, about the booking date for next year's summer dance festival of NYCity Ballet, the Chatelet 2015-2016 brochure states that the programmes and prices will be announced in January 2016.

[alison]

Sheila originally posted this on the Les étés de la danse thread in the News forum, but I've moved it into Performances and given it a thread of its own.

 

Thanks, Sheila.