Thank you for joining us
The Ailey Moves NYC! summer dance celebration has come to an end. We're so thrilled you could join us!July 31-August 5, 2023
FREE Summer Dance Celebration for All
Ailey Moves NYC!, a summer celebration of dance is back! Featuring free activities for all ages across the five boroughs including performances by Ailey II, dance classes and workshops led by Ailey’s Arts In Education, Ailey Extension teachers and musicians, and instructors from The Ailey School. Ailey is thrilled to bring dance to our fellow New Yorkers throughout the city!
Schedule
Von King Cultural Center, 670 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn, NY
4pm - Tweens (Ages 10-13)
6pm - Adults (Ages 13+)
West African Dance Workshop
Presented by The Ailey School
Join us for a soul grounding day of dance when instructors from The Ailey School – the official school of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – bring their brilliant technique and high energy to Brooklyn to teach West African Dance. This class brings together body, mind, and spirit in an energetic union of music, dance, and oral tradition of the people of West Africa. Participants will be taught regional songs and dances of welcome and praise such as; Lamban (Dance of Celebration), Mandjani (Challenge Dance), and Wolo Sodon Jon Don (Dance of Becoming Free). Each dance is accompanied by live drumming to provide an understanding of the relationship between the dance and musician and the common language they must speak to execute an African Dance style.
Queens, NY
Queens Community House
Pomonok Older Adult Center, 67-09 Kissena Blvd, Queens, NY
10am
AileyDance for Active Aging Workshop
Presented by Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs
Everyone can dance! Ailey's signature program for older adults, AileyDance for Active Aging, comes to Pomonok Older Adult Center. Join us for dance and conversation and learn about Alvin Ailey's masterwork Revelations. After a dance warm up for both seated and standing individuals, participants will learn modified excerpts of Revelations, which still resonates more than 60 years after its premiere.
Manhattan, NY
Marcus Garvey Park, 6316, Mt Morris Park W, New York, NY
6pm
West African Dance Class
Co-Presented by Ailey Extension and NYC Parks
Dance in Marcus Garvey Park with Ailey! Immerse yourself in West African music and culture with Maguette Camara for a West African dance class featuring live drumming. This class is open to people of all ages and all levels of dance experience. Everyone can dance with Ailey!
7pm
Ailey II Performance
Co-Presented by Ailey and NYC Parks
Kicking off its 50th anniversary season, Ailey II comes to Harlem for an evening of electrifying dance! Comprised of the most promising early-career dance talent in the country, the company, led by Artistic Director Francesca Harper, is renowned for its electrifying performances, rigorous touring schedule, and community programs. Ailey II will perform a dynamic repertory featuring the incredible energy of an excerpt of William Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure, an excerpt from Alvin Ailey’s lyrical ballet The Lark Ascending, Robert Battle’s percussive Takademe, and Harper’s galactical Freedom Series.
Snug Harbor Cultural Center, 1000 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island, NY
6:30pm
West African Dance Workshop
Presented by The Ailey School
Join renowned Instructors from The Ailey School – the official school of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater – when they bring their brilliant technique and high energy to Snug Harbor Cultural Center to teach West African Dance to the Staten Island community. This class brings together body, mind, and spirit in an energetic union of music, dance, and oral tradition of the people of West Africa. Participants will be taught regional songs and dances of welcome and praise such as; Lamban (Dance of Celebration), Mandjani (Challenge Dance), and Wolo Sodon Jon Don (Dance of Becoming Free). Each dance is accompanied by live drumming to provide an understanding of the relationship between the dance and musician and the common language they must speak to execute an African Dance style.
Bryant Park, New York, NY
6pm
West African Dance Class
Presented by Ailey Extension
Dance in Bryant Park with Ailey! Immerse yourself in West African music and culture with Maguette Camara for a West African dance class featuring live drumming. This class is open to people of all ages and all levels of dance experience. Everyone can dance with Ailey!
7pm
Ailey II Performance
Ailey II—the Next Generation of Dance—returns to Bryant Park this summer for an evening of dance as part of Ailey Moves NYC!. Comprised of the most promising early-career dance talent in the country, the company, led by Artistic Director Francesca Harper, is renowned for its electrifying performances, rigorous touring schedule, and community programs. In celebration of the company's 50th anniversary, Ailey II will perform a dynamic repertory featuring the incredible energy of an excerpt of William Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure, an excerpt from Alvin Ailey’s lyrical ballet The Lark Ascending, Robert Battle’s percussive Takademe, and Harper’s galactical Freedom Series.
Little Island, Pier55 in Hudson River Park, West 13th Street, New York, NY
3pm
Revelations Celebration Dance Workshop
Presented by Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs in association with Little Island
Everyone can dance with Ailey! Join the processional over the South Bridge as Ailey's West African drummers and dancers lead the young and young at heart to The Play Ground for a workshop to learn modified excerpts of Alvin Ailey's masterwork, Revelations.
Poe Park, 2640 Grand Concourse at 192nd Street, Bronx, NY
3pm
Hip-Hop Workshop
Co-Presented by Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs and NYC Parks
Come dance with Ailey in the Bronx! Join us in celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop as we move and groove in the place where it all began. Participants of all ages are encouraged to come and show off your moves as we learn dance steps born out of one of the most influential cultural movements in human history.
Programs and casting are subject to change without notice. Please follow our Instagram page to be informed of any cancellations or changes due to poor weather conditions.






Ailey Moves NYC! Photo: Jeroboam Bozeman, photo by Andrew Eccles.