Alvin Ailey Dance Theater to Celebrate NYC Dance Week with FREE Classes & More, 6/18

New York) June 15, 2015 - Ailey celebrates NYC Dance Week, a citywide festival from June 18 - 27 that promotes the joy and diversity of dance, with FREE class offers at The Ailey Extension and performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center, through June 21.

The celebration kicks off at the Ailey Studios - home to the incomparable Ailey dancers - on Thursday, June 18 and continues through Saturday, June 27, with at least three free classes offered each day for new students* in nearly all of the 25 techniques offered at The Ailey Extension. The centerpiece of Ailey's NYC Dance Week class offerings is a FREE Vogue class for ALL students (new and returning), led by vogue veteran Cesar Valentino on Saturday, June 20 at 5pm. Cesar will teach participants the fundamentals of vogue dancing, complete with hand movements, popping, dipping, and spinning. No registration is required for this special open class.

The NYC Dance Week classes are the perfect way to add some spice to your exercise routine. Free offerings include everything from Capoeira to Masala Bhangra to the new Kukuwa African Dance Workout - a cardio journey through Africa - so regardless of your workout style, there is sure to be something for you. The complete list of free classes is here. The NYC Dance Week pass (downloadable here) MUST be presented for all FREE classes.

*New students may take one free class; all subsequent classes require payment. Current students will receive a free class with purchase of a 10-class card during this period.

In addition to classes at The Ailey Extension, New Yorkers have the opportunity to be inspired by Ailey's extraordinary dancers during NYC Dance Week at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Lincoln Center engagement (through June 21). Highlights include:

• The June 17 Company premiere of Artistic Director Robert Battle's No Longer Silent, which brings to life a score by Nazi-banned composer Erwin Schulhoff, who perished in a concentration camp in 1942. This is presented in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald, marking the end of the Holocaust. (Performance Dates: June 17, June 20 evening, June 21evening)
• A new production of the sensual A Case of You duet by Judith Jamison, performed to Diana Krall's version of Joni Mitchell's song by the same title. (Performance Dates: June 17, June 20 evening)
• Farewell performances of Kirven Douthit-Boyd and Antonio Douthit-Boyd, who have become well-known to audiences for their standout performances since joining the Company in 2004, and who married in 2013. The celebrated Alicia Graf Mack will return to the stage to make her final appearance with the Company at Lincoln Center, in the iconic umbrella woman role in the "Wade in the Water" section at the heart of Alvin Ailey's American masterpiece Revelations. All three dancers will be prominently featured in the performances on June 16, 18, and 21 (evening).