MPAC presents Ailey II on September 25th

Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 09/16/2026

Ailey II in Alvin Ailey's Night Creature. Photo by Nir Arieli

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Ailey II, the dynamic second company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, are on a 27-city tour across the country that comes to Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) on Friday, September 25, 2026. The next generation of dance will present a riveting repertory featuring a world premiere by Ailey II's very own Artistic Director Francesca Harper in collaboration with Jermaine Spivey, mesmerizing new productions by Alvin Ailey and Ronald K. Brown, and cherished classics that showcase the company’s virtuosity. Showtime is 8:00pm.

Francesca Harper’s In the Moment is a meditation on presence, transformation, and the profound impact of being truly seen. The work is inspired by a small but powerful gesture of recognition and enduring friendship. Through movement and text, the work explores the ways empathy can become action and how one generation can affirm, guide, and empower the next.

Renowned for his fusion of African and modern dance, Ronald K. Brown added new flavor to his signature style in Open Door, an enlivening work set to recordings by Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. With co-choreographer Arcell Cabuag, Brown combines the impassive swagger of club dance with the undulant torso, winging arms and rhythmic feet of West African dance.

Alvin Ailey’s Night Creature is a bubbly champagne cocktail of a dance, a perfect fusion of Mr. Ailey’s buoyant choreography and Duke Ellington’s sparkling music. At once wistful and sassy, it beckons viewers into a nocturnal world populated by jazz babies and night owls. Ellington said that “night creatures, unlike stars, do not come OUT at night—they come ON, each thinking that, before the night is out, he or she will be the star.” This ensemble work is full of such stars—strutting, leaping, and slinking through a variety of dance idioms as they flaunt and flirt with each other and the audience. It’s the definitive dance homage to the exuberance of The Duke’s sophisticated symphonic work.

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Tickets range from $45-$91 (all fees included) and are available for purchase online. $20 student tickets are available to full-time high school and college students with verified ID; more information can be found on MPAC’s website. Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC) is located at 100 South Street in Morristown, New Jersey.

Founded as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble in 1974, Ailey II serves as a bridge between The Ailey School and the professional dance world. The company embodies Alvin Ailey’s pioneering mission of cultivating the next generation of emerging artists and inspiring audiences of all backgrounds. Under the artistic direction of Francesca Harper, Ailey II features some of the most promising rising stars redefining modern dance today.

“This season, Ailey II continues to embody the bold and fearless spirit of the next generation of dance while honoring the legacy that brought us here,” Francesca Harper said. “I am thrilled for audiences across the country to experience the passion and artistry of these twelve extraordinary artists on stage, and to close out the season at home in New York City.”

Ailey II welcomes back Kamani Abu, Jada Ammons, Christian Butts, Adanna Smalls, and Eric J. Vidaña along with seven new dancers: Julie Colotroc, Daijia Monaé, Vic E. Davis, Jaydin Javier De Jesús, Michelle Osanya, Jalyn Postadan, and Dominic A. Roberts.

Chosen by Alvin Ailey to guide and develop Ailey II after its inception in 1974 until she stepped down in 2012, Ailey II Artistic Director Emerita Sylvia Waters conceived and directed Portrait of Ailey, an eight-part documentary series available for free on AILEY.org or PBS LearningMedia. The exceptional series combines rare historical film and still images with contemporary footage to create a sweeping narrative of Mr. Ailey as a performer, choreographer, celebrity, teacher, social activist, arts advocate, and the creator of an enduring institution.

Ailey II's Adanna Smalls and Vic E. Davis in Ronald K. Brown's Open Door. Photo by Nir Arieli

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Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, presents a wide range of programs that entertain, enrich, and educate the diverse population of the region and enhance the economic vitality of Northern New Jersey. The 2026-2027 season is made possible, in part, by a grant the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as support received from the F.M. Kirby Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and numerous corporations, foundations and individuals. Mayo Performing Arts Center was named 2016 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theatres, and is ranked in the top 50 mid-sized performing arts centers by Pollstar Magazine.