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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater\u2019s Constance Stamatiou in Alvin Ailey\u2019s \u201cRevelations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Christopher Duggan<\/p>\n
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey\u2019s \u201cRevelations\u201d at the Ailey Spirit Gala in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Donna Ward<\/p>\n
Xavier Mack, Samantha Figgins and Isaiah Day in Matthew Neenan\u2019s \u201cDifference Between\u201d for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Paul Kolnik<\/p>\n
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Fredrick Earl Mosley\u2019s \u201cEmbrace.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Paul Kolnik<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a tale as old as time: A beautiful young girl\u2019s family schemes to marry her into wealth, but she defies them by falling in love with a boy from the marketplace.\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve seen this romance unfold hundreds of times, but have you seen it as an Afro Caribbean jazz ballet?<\/p>\n
Hoping to offer fresh takes on timeless themes, the 32 dancers of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will bring new choreographies and Bay Area premieres to Cal Performances this month. Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack said the four programs, running Tuesday-Sunday, April 7-12, are crafted to bring audiences joy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u201cIn 2026, it is vital that we continue to inspire and uplift amidst all that\u2019s happening in our world,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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Chalvar Monteiro and Samantha Figgins rehearse \u201cThe Holy Blues\u201d with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Alice Castro<\/p>\n
Also important to the company\u2019s mission is accessibility, Associate Artistic Director Matthew Rushing said, who encourages new audiences to look for moments of resonance rather than worry about understanding the pieces. Its performances are events \u201cwhere you could bring the uncle who would rather be at a baseball game and he would enjoy himself,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Cal Performances. 7:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, April 7-9. 8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, April 10-11. 2 p.m. Saturday, April 11. 3 p.m. Sunday, April 12. $30-$225. Zellerbach Hall, UC Berkeley. 510-642-9988. www.calperformances.org<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll experience connection. (You\u2019ll) glimpse yourself and your life onstage,\u201d he went on. \u201cSometimes there isn\u2019t a narrative, but there is something extremely beautiful that touches your heart.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n One way the company seeks to make dance more accessible is by engaging youth. While in town, the company will present two special performances for local schools.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere are adults in the audience now who tell me that their first experience with live performance was when they were brought here as schoolchildren to see Ailey,\u201d said Jeffrey Geffen, executive and artistic director of Cal Performances, of the company\u2019s long-running relationship with the region.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know before heading\u00a0 to Berkeley\u2019s Zellerbach Hall for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater\u2019s latest Bay Area residency:<\/p>\n Yannick Lebrun in Jamar Roberts\u2019 \u201cSong of the Anchorite,\u201d inspired by Alvin Ailey\u2019s \u201cHermit Songs.\u201d<\/p>\n Courtesy of Paul Kolnik<\/p>\n Program A: Tuesday, April 7<\/p>\n This program features three Bay Area premieres, with a nod to founder Alvin Ailey.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n For \u201cSong of the Anchorite\u201d (2025), choreographer Jamar Roberts took inspiration from Alvin Ailey\u2019s \u201cHermit Songs\u201d (1961), a solo dance Ailey created for himself depicting a medieval man\u2019s intense religious vocation.\u00a0<\/p>\n While there are no videos of Ailey performing \u201cHermit Songs,\u201d only photos, research turned up footage of the choreographer directing a rehearsal. Roberts then created his own work based on these remnants, set to Israeli jazz trumpeter Avishai Cohen\u2019s interpretation of an adagio by French composer Maurice Ravel. The result is a new mediation on passion and devotion that retains the simplicity and power of Ailey\u2019s original piece.<\/p>\n \u201cDifference Between\u201d (2025) is Matthew Neenan\u2019s choreographic debut with the dance company. Set to music by 2025 MacArthur fellow Heather Christian, the ballet depicts community in tension, grief and romance.<\/p>\n Medhi Walerski, artistic director of the Nederlands Dance Theater, created an austere atmosphere for \u201cBlink of an Eye\u201d (2011\/2025). The most technical of the new pieces, dancers wear stark black costumes and perform to rapid-fire Bach partita recorded by Israeli American violinist\u00a0Itzhak Perlman. Though lacking the exuberance that characterizes this company, the work shows off the dancers\u2019 virtuosity.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n