There is a tendency by hardcore dance enthusiasts to write off the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The company has struggled for so long to find a viable repertory outside of a handful of classics (and in particular, the surefire, timeless Revelations that still closes most Ailey programs).
Artistic Director Robert Battle has tried to right that ship in recent years by acquiring works by reputable modern dance masters. The Ailey company’s first program in their weeklong residency at the Brooklyn Academy of Music shockingly did not have any works by Alvin Ailey on the program. (No Revelations on a gala night? Impossible.) The program was called Brooklyn Bonds and featured works by Ronald K. Brown, Twyla Tharp and Kyle Abraham.
The strongest work might have been the opener. Ronald K. Brown’s Dancing Spirit (2009) was a tribute to former Ailey director and legendary dancer Judith Jamison. The central figure of the work is a Judith Jamison doppelganger (in this performance, the gorgeous Constance Stamatiou) who seems to float above all the action and performs some very Judith Jamison moves.
But the whole ballet is a slow-burning crescendo. It starts off very quiet and contemplative, with dancers mirroring and shadowing each other in steps, but as the music (a mix of Duke Ellington, Winton Marsalas, Radiohead and War), the dancers lose themselves in the music. Their torsos wiggle, their arms and hands convulse, and they whip up a frenzy. It’s an exciting work that drew a visceral reaction from the crowd. At the end of the ballet, the frail Ronald K. Brown (he suffered a stroke in recent years) was brought onstage to thunderous applause. Dancing Spirit is a keeper.
Twyla Tharp’s Roy’s Joys was choreographed in 1997 but not brought back to repertory until December last year. And … I kind of understand why. While a ballet set to music by Roy Eldridge seems like a good idea on paper, Tharp never provides much structure. It’s just ensembles, duets, trios, one after another. It became monotonous. The steps are typical Tharp: the crane lifts, the mix of ballroom and modern dance. But this is one of the weakest Tharp works I’ve seen. Usually, Tharp is nothing if not watchable. Not this one. Roy’s Joys offered little joy.
Kyle Abraham’s Are You In Your Feelings? (2022) closed the program. Abraham is one of the most exciting voices in dance today. His two ballets for New York City Ballet have become huge hits. I thus eagerly awaited seeing his piece for Ailey.
Abraham follows a now-familiar formula. He has a medley of songs (often drawn from pop, hip-hop, and R&B music). His works are often ruminations on love, and so it was with Are You In Your Feelings? The music was mixed with a voice overlay which was dialogues or monologues about relationships. In one segment, a woman explains to her boyfriend’s mistress that he is hers and hers alone, but the duet (set to Shirley Brown’s “Woman to Woman”) is a sultry one for the two women of the faithless male. The central figures of the work are a man and woman (Kaylynn Green and Chalvar Montiero). They begin and end the ballet with duets. The first one is more tense and cagey, the final one more trusting. They end up shaking hands and walking off in the sunset.
Abraham has fantastic instincts. He knows how to choose music that caresses the ear. One of my favorite segments is set to the Flamingos’ classic rendition of “I Only Have Eyes For You.” He also knows that you put a love story onstage and the audience is usually invested, so he puts several love stories onstage. He is also great at tapping into the qualities that make a company special. The swiveling hips, the rippling arms, the flexible torsos of the Ailey company dancers were all used to great effect. Abraham is quickly becoming my favorite working choreographer today.
A word about the Ailey dancers: they are amazing. Let me repeat: AMAZING. A combination of incredible strength with a sinewy flexibility, music seemingly pulsating through their taut bodies. They deserve repertory of the highest caliber. And with choreographers like Ronald K. Brown and Kyle Abraham working with the company, the repertory might finally match the talents of the dancers.
