AILEY MOVES NYC! Free Dance Celebration is Coming to All Five Boroughs This Summer

Embracing people everywhere in the city that is its home, the Ailey organization will present Ailey Moves NYC! a summer celebration with free outdoor events throughout all five boroughs, July 23 - August 1, 2022. Featuring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Ailey Extension-which provides dance and fitness classes for all experience levels-and Ailey Arts In Education programs, Ailey Moves NYC! offers performances, dance classes, Revelations workshops, and screenings of Jamila Wignot's acclaimed 2021 documentary Ailey.

Robert Battle, artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, said, "Everyone at Ailey is mindful that we have so much to be grateful for. Our two companies have completed their first tours since the pandemic, and our recent Lincoln Center season brought us back home for the first time since last winter. Now is the time for us to give back to the city that does so much to sustain us. We are offering Ailey Moves NYC! in the spirit of Mr. Ailey himself, who said, "Dance comes from the people and should always be delivered back to the people' and in doing so we honor and carry forward his legacy."

Ailey Moves NYC! kicks off on Saturday, July 23, in partnership with Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage at the Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk with a free performance at 7pm by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world's most popular dance companies. Ailey's extraordinary artists grace the stage in hip-hop innovator Rennie Harris's acclaimed Lazarus, a powerful ensemble work inspired by the life and legacy of Alvin Ailey. The evening culminates in Alvin Ailey's American masterpiece Revelations, which has inspired generations through its powerful storytelling and soul-stirring spirituals since its creation in 1960. The performance is preceded by an Ailey Arts In Education workshop at 3pm, inviting everyone to join a fun-filled West African family workshop with live drumming.

Ailey II, the celebrated Second Company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, performs on Thursday, July 28 at Bryant Park Picnic Performances in Manhattan. Universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country's best early-career dance talent with the passion and artistry of today's most outstanding choreographers, the gifted 12-member ensemble presents Andrea Miller's Psūkhe, Ailey company member Yannick Lebrun's Saa Magni and Francesca Harper's Freedom Series. Psūkhe (pronounced "pSEE-hee"), an energetic full-company work, features unexpected partnering and complex solos set to the electronic music of Nicolas Jaar. In the intimate Saa Magni (pronounced "SAH MAHg-knee") Lebrun delivers a passionate duet filled with the angst and fear that come with the mourning process. Harper's Freedom Series travels through a landscape of memories, creating a series of vignettes that embody and imagine a hybrid world where memory strives to influence the future. The program also showcases an Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater member in Mr. Ailey's Reflections in D, a stunning, masterful expression of Duke Ellington's composition.

Ailey Moves NYC! concludes on Monday, August 1 in Harlem at Marcus Garvey Park with a screening of the documentary Ailey at 8pm. Jamila Wignot's powerful documentary is told through Ailey's own words and features evocative archival footage and interviews.

Additional venues throughout the 10-day festival include St. Mary's Park in the Bronx, Far Rockaway Beach in Queens, Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island, and Times Square and Little Island (Pier 55) in Manhattan. Screenings of Ailey will be presented in collaboration with Rooftop Films.

Bennett Rink, Executive Director of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, said, "The Ailey organization has always been of and for the people of New York since 1958 when Alvin Ailey presented the Company's first performance in Manhattan at the 92nd Street Y, now 92NY. We are tremendously proud of our history and commitment to this city and this summer we want to say thank-you to New Yorkers. We can't do this alone and we extend our gratitude to our partners, including the City's Parks Department and SummerStage, the Times Square Alliance, Little Island and Snug Harbor, who are helping the many facets of Ailey bring Ailey Moves NYC! to the people."

For additional information and workshop descriptions, visit alvinailey.org/ailey-moves-nyc.

AILEY MOVES NYC! DETAILED SCHEDULE

Saturday, July 23	3:00 PM	Coney Island Amphitheater SummerStage (Brooklyn)	Ailey Arts In Education West African Dance Family Workshop with Sherece Hill and Fatima Logan-Alton
	7:00 PM	Coney Island Amphitheater SummerStage (Brooklyn)	Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Performance
Sunday, July 24	3:00 PM	Gil Heron Amphitheater (Bronx) located behind St. Mary's Rec Center	Ailey Arts In Education Latin-Style Dance Workshop with Ethel Calhoun and Lorena Jaramillo
Monday, July 25	11:00 AM	Hansborough Recreation Center (Harlem)	Ailey Arts In Education Active Aging Workshop with former Ailey company member Amos Machanic and Rachel Watson-Jih
Tuesday, July 26	2:00 PM	Times Square Alliance (Manhattan)	Ailey Extension NY Style Mambo class with Katherine Jimenez
	3:00 PM	Times Square Alliance (Manhattan)	Ailey Extension West African with Maguette Camara
Wednesday, July 27	2:00 PM	Times Square Alliance (Manhattan)	Ailey Extension Broadway Jazz class with Judine Somerville
Thursday, July 28	6:00 PM	Bryant Park (Manhattan)	Ailey Extension NY Style Mambo class with Katherine Jimenez
	7:00 PM	Bryant Park Picnic Performances (Manhattan)	Ailey II Performance with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater soloist
Friday, July 29	3:00 PM	Little Island (Manhattan)	Ailey Arts In Education Revelations Workshop led by former Ailey company members Renée Robinson and Amos Machanic, as well as West African Workshop with Fatima Logan-Alston
	7:00 PM	Snug Harbor Cultural Center (Staten Island)	Ailey Arts In Education Revelations Workshop led by former Ailey company members Renée Robinson and Amos Machanic
	8:30 PM	Snug Harbor Cultural Center (Staten Island)	Screening of Ailey documentary
Saturday, July 30	4:00 PM	Beach 17 Far Rockaway (Queens)	Arts In Education West African Dance Workshop with LaToya Wigfall and Fatima Logan-Alston
Sunday, July 31	5:00 PM	Jackie Robinson Park (Harlem)	Arts In Education West African Dance Workshop with Sherece Hill and Hip-Hop Workshop with Keith Alexander
Monday, August 1	8:00 PM	Marcus Garvey Park (Harlem)	Screening of Ailey documentary

PERFORMANCE REPERTORY *All Programming - Subject to Change

Alvin Ailey AMERICAN DANCE THEATER at Coney Island

Lazarus (2018)
Choreography by Rennie Harris
Music: Darrin Ross, Nina Simon, Terence Trent D'Arby, Michael Kiwanuka, Odetta
Inspired by the life and legacy of Mr. Ailey, hip hop choreographer Rennie Harris-the organization's inaugural Artist-in-Residence-connects past and present in a powerful ensemble work that addresses the racial inequities America faced when Mr. Ailey founded this company in 1958 and still faces today. The Company's first two-act ballet, Lazarus is set to a soundtrack produced by Darrin Ross, with his original music, and featuring Nina Simone, Terrence Trent D'Arby, Michael Kiwanuka, Odetta, spoken text written and adapted by Rennie Harris that is performed by Wadud Ahmad, Rennie Harris, as well as the voice of Alvin Ailey.

Revelations (1960)

Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Music: Traditional Spirituals
More than just a popular dance work, Revelations has become a cultural treasure, beloved by generations of fans and acclaimed as a must‐see for all. Alvin Ailey's signature masterpiece is a tribute to his heritage. Using African American spirituals, the work fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. Seeing Revelations for the first time or the hundredth can be a transcendent experience. Audiences cheer, sing along, and dance in their seats from the opening notes of the plaintive "I Been 'Buked" to the rousing "Wade in the Water" and the triumphant finale, "Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham."

AILEY II at Bryant Park Picnic Performances

Freedom Series (2021)
Choreography by Francesca Harper
Music: Various Artists
Inspired by her Ailey homecoming, Francesca Harper's Freedom Series travels through a landscape of memories creating a series of vignettes that embody and imagine a hybrid world where memory strives to influence the future. Depicted through this futuristic lens, and developed in collaboration with the Ailey II dancers, Harper's work examines identity and community. With costumes by designer Elias Gurrola and a score featuring a blend of acoustic and electronic sounds, Freedom Series' unexpected twists and turns bridge tender moments to its intrinsic ferocity.

Psūkhe (2019)

Choreography by Andrea Miller
Music: Nicolas Jaar
Andrea Miller, artistic director of Gallim Dance, is known for visceral, imaginative work and her Ailey II debut, Psūkhe (pronounced "SOO-keh") is no exception. This energetic full company work is rooted in the Gaga movement language first developed by Batsheva's Ohad Naharin and features unexpected partnering and complex solos set to the electronic music of Nicolas Jaar. The title is an Ancient Greek word meaning "life's breath, spirit, and soul" and is the origin for the English word "psyche."

Reflections in D (1962 / New Production 2021)

Choreography by Alvin Ailey
Music: Duke Ellington
Alvin Ailey originally created this strong yet serene solo in 1962. The ballet is a stunning, masterful expression of Duke Ellington's composition, highlighting the power and grace of the male dancer.

Saa Magni (2019)

Choreography by Yannick Lebrun
Music: Oumou Sangaré
In the intimate Saa Magni-the title means "death is terrible"-Ailey company member Yannick Lebrun delivers a passionate duet filled with the angst and fear that comes along with the mourning process. One dancer portrays a lamented soul while the other provides strength and solace. Set to music by Malian singer Oumou Sangaré, Lebrun's movement is long and reaching with striking lines and full-bodied lifts.

ABOUT THE AILEY ORGANIZATION

In accordance with groundbreaking choreographer Alvin Ailey's dictum that "dance is for everybody," the Ailey organization offers dance performances, training and education and community programs that use the American modern dance tradition and the beauty of the African American heritage and other cultures to enlighten, unite and inspire all people. Ailey's permanent home-the largest building dedicated to dance in New York City, the dance capital of the world-named The Joan Weill Center for Dance, is located at 55th Street at 9th Avenue in New York City. For more information, visit www.alvinailey.org.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, America's Cultural Ambassador to the World, grew from a now fabled performance in 1958 at the 92nd St Y in New York City by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African American modern dancers that forever changed the perception of American dance. Today, under the leadership of artistic director, Robert Battle, the Company continues Mr. Ailey's mission by presenting important works of the past and commissioning new ones. In all, more than 235 works by over 90 choreographers have been part of the Company's repertory.

The Ailey company has gone to perform an estimated 25 million people in 48 states and in 71 countries on 6 continents-as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings (Ailey documentary available on Hulu and PBS Passport), and online platforms (Ailey All Access and more), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to inspire and unite people of all backgrounds around the globe. Before his untimely death in 1989, Alvin Ailey named Judith Jamison as his successor, and over the next 21 years, she brought the Company to unprecedented success. Ms. Jamison, in turn, personally selected Robert Battle to succeed her in 2011, and The New York Times declared he "has injected the company with new life."

Ailey II (1974) is the Second Company of emerging young dancers, universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country's best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today's most outstanding emerging choreographers. Under the vision of Artistic Director Francesca Harper, Ailey II will continue to expand the bridge from the classroom to the stage that Alvin Ailey created to constantly propel each new generation of artists forward.

Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs (1992) brings dance into the classrooms, communities, and lives of 100,000 young people each year, helping them reach their full potential through virtual, or in-person residencies and programs like AileyCamp, a unique summer day camp program for at-risk children in nine cities across the United States and AileyDance for Active Aging, a program bring the joy of dance to adults in community centers, residential homes and assisted living.

This summer as part of Ailey Moves NYC!, Ailey Arts In Education offers free workshops in the five boroughs that bring communities together, including: West African, Latin and Hip Hop workshops for the entire family; Active Aging workshops for adults 50+; and Revelations workshops that welcome all ages to learn excerpts of Alvin Ailey's iconic Revelations. All workshops offer participants a souvenir fan, a signature prop seen in Ailey's Revelations.

Ailey Extension (2005) fulfills Mr. Ailey's life-long commitment to bringing dance to everyone by offering "real classes for real people." With nearly 40 weekly classes and special workshops each month, Ailey Extension invites students all over the world to explore different dance styles seven days a week. Ailey Extension currently offers a variety of in-person, virtual, and hybrid class options in techniques like hip-hop, ballet, Horton, West African, Zumba®, contemporary, Pilates, Broadway Jazz, and more. Visit www.alvinailey.org/extension for the latest schedule.

Photo credit: Paul Kolnik