(NEWARK, NJ) -- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on Friday, May 6, 2022 at 8:00pm, Saturday, May 7, 2022 at 8:00pm, and Sunday, May 8, 2022 at 3:00pm. They will be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Revelations, the cultural treasure that changed modern dance forever.
Truly great dance can be a window to the heart and soul, revealing our deepest selves. Let the artists of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater take you on a path of discovery. This mixed repertory program will feature new and classic works, including the beloved Ailey masterpiece Revelations. Using African American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs, and holy blues, Revelations fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. Whether you’ve seen Ailey before or this is your first time, you’re sure to experience something new.
“The most exciting dance company in the world.” –The Huffington Post. “Watching Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater can change your life.” –The New York Times
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance.
The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents – as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings, and online platforms.
In 2008, a U.S. Congressional resolution designated the Company as “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world” that celebrates the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage. When Mr. Ailey began creating dances, he drew upon his "blood memories" of Texas, the blues, spirituals, and gospel as inspiration, which resulted in the creation of his most popular and critically acclaimed work, Revelations. Although he created 79 ballets over his lifetime, Mr. Ailey maintained that his company was not exclusively a repository for his own work.
Today, 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 Ailey company’s repertory.
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.”
New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC), located at One Center Street in downtown Newark, N.J., has the most diverse programming and audience of any performing arts center in the country, and is the artistic, cultural, educational and civic center of New Jersey – where great performances and events enhance and transform lives every day. NJPAC brings diverse communities together, providing access to all and showcasing the state’s and the world’s best artists while acting as a leading catalyst in the revitalization of its home city. Through its extensive Arts Education programs, NJPAC is shaping the next generation of artists and arts enthusiasts. NJPAC has attracted more than 9 million visitors (including over 1.7 million children and families) since opening its doors in 1997, and nurtures meaningful and lasting relationships with each of its constituents.
