Carmen De Lavallade News

The League of Professional Theatre Women will present an Oral History Project event with the 4-time Tony Award-nominated producer Alia Jones-Harvey on Monday, May 24 at 6pm on Zoom. The Oral History Project chronicles and documents the contributions of significant theatre women in all fields.

Today Jacob’s Pillow has announced plans to host a multi-platform virtual and on-site Festival in 2021, undertake substantial renovations to the Ted Shawn Theatre, and complete Vision ’22, a five-year strategic plan established in 2017.

Love is in the air this month as BroadwayHD adds a line-up of new show-stopping theater performances, concert films and documentaries. Starting on February 1st, BroadwayHD viewers can stream this delightful 1958 musical film Gigi, winner of 9 Academy Awards.

Today we learn all about Alvin Ailey- a dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who is perhaps best known for founding the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). His work fused theater, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that continues to spread global awareness of black life in America.

Recipients to be honored at the 43rd annual national celebration of the arts are: multi-disciplinary artist, choreographer, and actress Debbie Allen; singer-songwriter and activist Joan Baez; country singer-songwriter Garth Brooks; violinist Midori; and actor Dick Van Dyke.

The League of Professional Theatre Women will present an Oral History Project event with the award-winning composer, lyricist, playwright, and actress Micki Grant on Monday, November 16 at 6pm on Zoom. Admission to the event is FREE. The interview with Ms. Grant has been prerecorded, and will be followed by a live Q&A.

The Ailey organization continues to uplift spirits of 24 million people and counting globally with Ailey All Access. The online initiative offers free performance broadcasts from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater repertory, Ailey Extension dance and fitness class, original short films, conversation series, and more.

Founder Alvin Ailey's ground-breaking legacy drives the Ailey organization to share the Ailey spirit despite unprecedented times through Ailey All Access.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ends its current 21-city tour at New Jersey Performing Arts Center for a three-day engagement over Mother's Day Weekend, May 8-10. Led by artistic director Robert Battle, Ailey's 32 renowned dancers will elevate a legacy of innovation and excellence in artistry with diverse works by preeminent choreographers.

Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) announces the return of Practical Playwriting: How to Write for Commercial Production 2020 on Saturday, March 14, 2020 from 10am to 5:30 pm at Clinton Cameo Studios, 307 W. 43rd Street, Studio A. Tickets are $125 for members and $150 for non-members. Early- Bird tickets are $25 off thru 3/4. Tickets can be purchased online at https://truonline.org/events/practical-playwriting-2020/.

It was a misty, later rainy night, but that didn't dampen the enthusiasm of the audience at Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theater watching DEMO: Now 2020. They greeted the musicians and dancers, directed and curated by Damian Woetzel, with standing ovations and loud, prolonged applause.

It was humbling listening to audience members remark upon the beauty and pure joy of seeing a stage filled with artists of color, responding to a shared sense of knowing, especially Ailey's work, Cry, dedicated in the program to 'all Black women everywhere - especially our mothers.' The ability for audience members to feel seen in a 2,000 plus seat auditorium, by a nearly fifty-year-old work, is the platform Ailey gave his artists.

After its sold-out 2018 debut, the biennale MOVING BODY - MOVING IMAGE Festival, conceived and curated by the accomplished choreographer, dancer, teacher, and filmmaker Gabri Christa, returns to Barnard College.

Jacob's Pillow, in partnership with the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) and the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), invites early career dance presenters to apply for an immersive professional development experience at Jacob's Pillow, August 5-8, 2020. The third annual Forum, reinstated in July 2018 in response to field-wide interest, is developed in collaboration with key partners from across the U.S. and designed to be a catalytic opportunity for early career dance presenters.

On Tuesday, December 10th, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues its holiday season with a celebration of The Ailey School's 50th anniversary, honoring its standard of excellence for providing exceptional training to more than 3,500 students annually. This special evening features students performing alongside the Company in Alvin Ailey's Memoria and Revelations.

Last night, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2019-2020 holiday season engagement at New York City Center kicked off with a star-studded Opening Night Gala Benefit performance and party led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, with award-winning actress and singer Renée Elise Goldsberry as honorary chair. 

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater kicks off its five-week holiday season with a one-night only gala benefit on Wednesday, December 4 at 7pm, complete with an exceptional performance at New York City Center and dinner-party at the Hilton New York Grand Ballroom.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater kicks off its five-week holiday season with a one-night only gala benefit on Wednesday, December 4 at 7pm, complete with an exceptional performance at New York City Center and dinner-party at the Hilton New York Grand Ballroom. The gala honors Philanthropist Elaine Wynn & The Elaine P. Wynn & Family Foundation for their generous contributions which have supported the creation of new works as well as the Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing, which in 2017 added three floors a?" featuring four dance studios and two classrooms a?" to The Joan Weill Center for Dance, New York's largest building dedicated to dance.  The event's co-chairs are Emily & Len Blavatnik, Paulette Mullings Bradnock & Howard Bradnock, Mellody Hobson & George Lucas, Daria L & Eric J. Wallach and Joan & Sandy Weill.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater announces programming for a historic night at Ailey celebrating Associate Artistic Director Masazumi Chaya on Sunday, December 22nd at 7:30pm at New York City Center. Previously, Robert Battle, Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, shared the news that the Company's beloved mainstay for nearly five decades, Mr. Chaya, intends to retire on January 5, 2020, at the conclusion of the Company's New York City Center season. Having joined the Company in 1972 as a dancer, Mr. Chaya performed under Mr. Ailey's direction for 15 years, subsequently assumed responsibility for rehearsing the Company-a role for which Mr. Ailey had cultivated him-and for more than 28 years, as Associate Artistic Director, has maintained the repertoire, handled innumerable creative decisions, and guided generations of the Company's dancers.

The School at Jacob's Pillow, a world-renowned center for artistic growth and excellence, announces 2020 professional advancement programs in Contemporary Ballet, Street & Club Dances, Contemporary, and Musical Theatre Dance; and professional development programs in Choreography and Dance Photography. Situated in the heart of Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, the longest-running dance festival in the United States, The School has been instrumental in furthering the careers of dance artists for over 80 years and offers innovative programs each year with its roster of renowned and sought-after choreographers and dance leaders who serve as faculty. Dancers selected to attend The School at Jacob's Pillow join one of the most influential international dance networks in the field.