The nonstop pace and complexity of modern life set the tone for Dwight Rhoden’s contemporary ballet. Rhoden peels away the layers of classical music and dance, deconstructing traditional forms and exploding the limits of the Ailey dancers’ astonishing physicality. Rhoden’s 2000 premiere, Chocolate Sessions, was proclaimed “a sexy, rollicking work” by Newsday. In this powerful work, the choreographer’s trademark sophistication and intensity will once again illuminate the tension of human relationships in a series of isolated moments bursting with energy.

“When Jennifer Muller speaks, people listen,” raved Dance Magazine. Muller’s passionate, high-energy piece speaks about the moment to moment, indelible choices that we make that we cannot retrace or retract, choices that end up affecting the paths of our lives. The work witnesses a group of individuals traveling together as they are delayed and diverted from choosing directions that could lead to greater clarity and more positive interaction. A propulsive, evocative original score by Lawrence Nachsin and arresting, shape-shifting costumes designed by Karen Small enhance Muller’s dazzling choreography.

Alonzo King sparks the Ailey dancers’ brilliance with another provocative, alluring ballet that delves beneath the physical surface. Through the choreographer’s keen eye and sensitive observation, the invisible is made visible and the elusive qualities that animate each dancer are revealed. The New York Times hailed King’s Following the Subtle Current Upstream as "…spectacular in its visual and kinetic impact.” This inventive work, flavored with the sounds of original Moroccan music and vocals, promises to send audiences soaring once again.

Former Artistic Director Robert Battle’s first creation for Ailey is a modern day Rite of Spring with an abstract twist—an electrifying thrill ride through ritual and folk tradition. Battle’s uninhibited movement melds seamlessly with an original score for string quartet and percussion by his frequent collaborator John Mackey. 

PRESS COVERAGE

''Juba, Robert Battle's first work for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, is frenetic and electrifying, a terse, powerful explosion of transformative energy. On the surface, nothing seemed to be happening as three men and a woman jumped up and down virtually nonstop while regrouping into various patterns. Yet by the end, an infernal communal round had found spiritual release through some sort of centrifugal force. Filled with fabulously high-octane stamina by the Ailey dancers, Juba should not be mistaken for a minimalist piece. Mr. Battle has hit upon an abstract signature style that is highly dramatic. Everything seems to be sustained in tone, including John Mackey's commissioned and apt, jagged score for electronic string quartet and percussion. But Mr. Battle, and this is his originality, matches this apparent evenness of tone with a sense of climax. The steps are similar and repeated but there is also mounting energy. It is an ingenious paradox, found also in old ecstatic dances." –Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times, 12/13/2003

This new production of Juba is made possible with major support from Michele & Timothy Barakett.

Generous support is also provided by The Fred Eychaner New Works Endowment Fund.

The commissioning of this work was originally made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council for the Arts, a State agency.