The Opening Night Gala Benefit kicks off Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's annual five-week winter season in New York City.

Join us for a one-night-only program featuring highlights from favorite ballets in the Ailey repertory set to music from the Modern American Songbook:

• The finale of George Faison's vibrant Suite Otis, a tribute to singer Otis Redding, danced to Redding's sublime recording of "Try a Little Tenderness"; 

• Two sections from Love Stories, Judith Jamison's dynamic collaboration with Rennie Harris and Robert Battle – a portrait of the Ailey company's past, present, and future – that draws inspiration from the songs of Stevie Wonder. The first excerpt is Jamison's tender opening to the ballet ("If It's Magic") ;

• Ray Charles' "What'd I Say," a high point of Camille A. Brown's The Groove To Nobody’s Business, an exhilarating and hilarious tale of a group waiting for a subway train to arrive; 

• Earth, Wind & Fire's "That's The Way of the World," the central duet in David Parsons' Shining Star about a deep and lasting love; and

• The final section of Love Stories, Robert Battle's jubilant choreography for Stevie Wonder's "Fingertips.”

In the second half of the program, Alvin Ailey's masterpiece, Revelations, will be performed to live music.

Proceeds benefit the creation of new works, scholarships to The Ailey School, and Ailey’s educational programs for children.