The 55th appearance of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Chicago’s historic Auditorium Theatre featured several world premieres and new productions that solidified its reputation as one of the nation’s leading modern dance companies. Their five-day residency marked the unofficial opening of the city’s spring cultural season with a series of electrifying performances.
Among the highlights was a stunning piece, Me, Myself and You choreographed by Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, who was the company’s first Filipina principal dancer when she joined in 1984. It features Damien Sneed and Brandie Sutton’s evocative rendition of Duke Ellington’s In A Sentimental Mood in this dance’s world premiere. With shimmering costumes by Dante Baylor and Scenic Design by the choreographer with Joseph Anthony Gaito, the highly athletic duet set the tone and a very high-performance bar for the remainder of the company’s program.
Solo, choreographed by the Dutch dance master Hans van Manen was presented in a new production of his 1997 masterpiece. Featuring music by Johann Sebastian Bach, it demonstrated the company’s breadth of repertoire and their complete mastery of the art of dance.
Following The Subtle Current Upstream is a mixed bag of sonic and rhythmic snippets gleaned from the kinetic music of Zakir Hussain and Miguel Frasconi and punctuated by the earthy vocalize of ‘Mother Africa,’ Miriam Makeba.
Choreographer Alonzo King put the dancers through a series of structural tableaus that explored the boundaries of form and movement. Dancers configured themselves in various geometric shapes that seemed propelled by the pulsating shifts and turns of the music.
King calls his dance works “thought structures” and rightfully so. He uses the art of dance to manipulate the concept of matter moving through time and space to great advantage. It is an astonishing concept to watch as it unfolds. Only a company with a superlative cadre of dancers, like Alvin Ailey, could pull this high wire act off with such aplomb.
Century was the showstopper of the afternoon’s offerings. Choreographed by Amy Hall Garner as a tribute to her grandfather, Henry Spooner, on the eve of his 100th birthday, it is a celebration of life and the spirit of resilience through the art of dance. A phenomenally versatile choreographer with commission credits ranging from the New York City Ballet and Paul Taylor Dance Company to Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Garner’s Century moves seamlessly through a variety of genres. With glitzy lighting and sets by Nicole Pearce and costumes by Susan Roemer, the company’s dancers romped through the worlds of ballet, modern dance, and Broadway theatre. They brought the audience to their feet with thunderous applause.
Sunday’s matinee performance was a fitting farewell to a devoted Chicago audience. There were many in the crowd, which included Chicago’s Mayor, Brandon Johnson, and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who had been to more than one performance.
As a conclusion to its five-day residency at the Auditorium Theatre, the program featured excerpts from its founder’s most beloved works, including the emotional Memoria. With the mournful musings of the phenomenal pianist Keith Jarrett’s Runes featuring the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra as a backdrop, the dance resurrected the spirits of those who have lost their lives in conflicts past and present. Memoria is a work that gives one pause to reflect.
As a change of pace, the jazzy Night Creature and Pas De Duke both featured the music of Duke Ellington to some of the snappiest jazz dancing since the days of the Savoy and the Renaissance Ballroom.
Masekela Language from 1969 celebrated the anti-apartheid music of the late South African trumpeter, activist, and expatriate Hugh Masekela, who was once married to the Miriam Makeba. The two remained each other’s muses and lifelong collaborators who vigorously fought against South Africa’s racially repressive regime through their music. The company’s rigorous dance moves and the driving raw soul of Masekela’s trumpet brought the spirit of Uhuru to life!
Love Songs elicited one of the afternoon’s most heartfelt responses. Framed by Donny Hathaway’s riveting interpretation of Leon Russell’s pensive A Song for You, it featured a solo dance performance that channeled the very spirit of the company’s founder.
The afternoon’s set pieces of Ailey Classics concluded with his monumental masterpiece Revelations. The work is, in and of itself, a National Treasure. Upcoming performances at the Auditorium Theatre include South Chicago Dance Theatre Saturday, April 27 at 7:30pm. Visit auditoriumtheatre.org for more information.