George Faison, a former Ailey dancer and Tony Award winning choreographer, captures the resilience of the human spirit in this ballet that recreates brutal human bondage in the hold of a slave ship. An eclectic mixture of African rhythms, jazz, and soulful vocals in the musical score contrast with the clanking of chains and shackles worn by the dancers. Mr. Faison wanted to tell the story of a journey out of freedom into slavery from an African American point of view and to declare that, in spite of the horrible darkness of this enslavement, there is nothing that can extinguish the light of the human soul.