By Grace-May Hansen

One of the world’s most acclaimed dance ensembles, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, returns to Berkeley for its annual residency at Cal Performances this April 7-12, led by new artistic director, Alicia Graf Mack.  Four diverse programs blend bold contemporary works with uplifting classics, showcasing the breadth and resilience of its dancers and artistic legacy across seven performances. 

Tickets: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Cal Performances April 7-12, are available at calperformances.org, by phone at (510) 642-9988, or in person at the Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall.

A multi-genre soundtrack spans musical history, featuring compositions ranging from the violin sonatas of Johann Sebastian Bach to popular songs by Ed Sheeran, Stevie Wonder and Pink. The music and choreography explore the depths and variety of human experience, expressing spiritual themes and social commentary while celebrating the richness and diversity of the African American experience.

New Leadership

This year, Alicia Graf Mack — a San Jose native, virtuoso ballerina, and recent dean and dance division director at The Julliard School in New York — returned to the Ailey company as its fourth artistic director since its 1958 founding. She was a celebrated dancer with the company from 2005 to 2014. 

“Ailey was always the north star,” Graf Mack said. “To come back now feeling prepared, ready, honored — I couldn’t be more happy.”

Having collaborated with the likes of Alicia Keys and Beyoncé, Graf Mack informs the Ailey company’s rich dance tradition with a contemporary sensibility. Graf Mack was first brought to the company and mentored by Judith Jamison, the company’s artistic director from 1989 to 2011, and emerita director at the time of her death in 2024. 

In 2025 Graf Mack received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Juilliard. Her achievements have been recognized with Smithsonian Magazine’s American Innovator of the Arts and Sciences award, Columbia University’s Medal of Excellence, and the prestigious 2023 Dance Magazine Award.

With the support of the Ailey Company’s associate artistic director, Matthew Rushing, Graf Mack is piloting the company’s evolution, elevating contemporary creators while staying true to the legacy and vision of Alvin Ailey. 

Alicia Graf Mack, at center, the new artistic director at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, with members of the Company. The Ailey company performs at Cal Performances April 7-12. Credit: Andrew Eccles

Repertoire

This year’s Ailey performances in Berkeley feature six Bay Area premieres paired with familiar classics.

Program A, to be performed Tues., April 7 at 7:30 p.m., includes three Bay Area premieres. From Medhi Walerski, now artistic director of Ballet BC, comes “Blink of an Eye.” It explores the strong yet vulnerable relationship between dance and music, with bold athletic choreography that mingles with J.S. Bach’s timeless violin sonatas and partita.  

Second on the program is “Song of the Anchorite,” a display of earthly and spiritual passion, by Jamar Roberts, formerly an Ailey dancer and resident choreographer. The piece was inspired by Alvin Ailey’s 1961 solo, “Hermit Songs.” It is powered by the recording of Ravel’s Adagio assai (from Piano Concerto in G Major) performed by jazz trumpeter Avishai Cohen. 

Following that, is Matthew Neenan’s choreographic debut for the Ailey company.  His “Difference Between” creates a world of tension, grief and love set to a compilation of powerful music composed and recorded by singer Heather Christian, a 2025 MacArthur Fellow. 

The program concludes with the return of Alvin Ailey’s timeless anthem, “Revelations,” which premiered in 1960. “Revelations” pays homage to and reflects the cultural heritage of the African American, which Ailey considered one of America’s richest treasures. 

Program B is offered on Wed., April 8 at 7:30 p.m., Sat., April 11 at 2 p.m., and Sun. April 12 at 3 p.m. It opens with the Bay Area premiere of “Jazz Island,” a theatrically staged Caribbean folktale choreographed by Cuban American artist Maija García in her first collaboration with the Ailey company. It features an original score by New Orleans jazz artist Etienne Charles. 

The program continues with Fredrick Earl Mosley’s “Embrace” — a reflection on the complexity of human connection set to songs performed by a variety of artists including Stevie Wonder, Maxwell, and Etta James — and concludes with “Revelations.”

Dancers in the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform Alvin Ailey’s iconic work “Revelations” at Cal Performances April 7-12. Credit: Paul Kolnik

Program C, performed Thursday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m., and Friday, April 10 at 8 p.m., opens with the Bay Area premiere of “The Holy Blues.” It’s a collaboration between Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (founder of Urban Bush Women), current Ailey company dancer Samantha Figgins, and former Ailey dancer Chalvar Monteiro. The 2025 creation is inspired by the Ring Shout — a circular dance originating from Central and West Africa — and the Door of No Return — the final point of departure of enslaved Africans sent to America. Both serve as metaphors and an account of the lived experience of past generations. “The Holy Blues” is brought to life with a fusion of gospel music and the blues by artists including Sam Cooke and the Soul Stirrers, Howlin’ Wolf, and Andy Bey. 

It is followed by Walerski’s “Blink of an Eye” and the Bay Area premiere of a new production by Judith Jamison “A Case of You.” Jamison’s work is a sensual duet performed to Diana Krall’s rendition of the classic 1971 Joni Mitchell song. 

Program C concludes with a company classic, Ronald K. Brown’s “Grace,” a blend of modern dance and West African movement depicting individuals journeying to the promised land. “Grace” is set to a dynamic musical mix including selections by Duke Ellington, Fela Kuti and Peven Everett’s house music track, “Gabriel.”

Program D, performed Sat., April 11 at 8 p.m., begins with three of the residency’s Bay Area premieres: Zollar, Figgins, and Monteiro’s “The Holy Blues;” Walerski’s “Blink of an Eye;” and Jamison’s “A Case of You;” before concluding with “Revelations.”

The Ailey company’s annual residency at Cal Performances has been a Bay Area tradition for nearly 60 years, and this year’s engagement, like those before it, showcases the passionate spirit and extraordinary technique of Ailey’s dancers in new works and classic repertory favorites that have inspired fans for decades.

Performances for K–12 students

Cal Performances education programs serve grades K–12 and college campus communities. Courtesy of Cal Performances

Two performances for Bay Area K-12 students take place Thurs. and Fri., April 9-10, at 11 a.m. in Zellerbach Hall as part of Cal Performances’ SchoolTime series. The hourlong program, moderated by an Ailey dancer, introduces students to Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece, “Revelations,” and features excerpts of Ronald K. Brown’s “Grace.” Pre-registration and ticket purchase is required by filling out the order form at calperformances.org/k-12.

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