For the past 57 years, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s annual seasons at Cal Performances have brought new works to California audiences, as well as timeless classics like Revelations.
This year, on a West Coast tour that begins with performances April 2–6 at The Music Center in Los Angeles and continues April 8–13 at UC Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall, the company is again offering a handful of premieres.
In a telephone call with SF Classical Voice, Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing, a former longtime dancer with the troupe, spoke of his own new piece, Sacred Songs, set to receive its first performances in both L.A. and the Bay Area this month. He shared how the work incorporates spirituals that were featured in the original 1960 version of Revelations but later cut.
Back then, Revelations “was over an hour long and had live musicians and live vocalists onstage and was too large to take on tour,” said Rushing, describing the evolution of this signature piece by company founder Alvin Ailey. “He had to revise it to the version that we see now.”
But looking back, what Rushing saw on the cutting-room floor was inspiration. “As I was reading Ailey’s biography by Jennifer Dunning, I came across this chapter on Revelations that listed all of the songs that were originally in it. And as I tried to find what would drive me in the creative process, it definitely was the spirituals.
“But I also had a passion to present them in a more contemporary fashion. I’ve realized working with [new dancers who arrive to the company that] the gap between these spirituals and this current generation is becoming so large. It’s hard to find connective points. I [wanted] to maintain the essence of the spirituals — themes like lament, faith, and joy — [but] put them into a more contemporary sound, hoping that it speaks to all generations.”
The music for Sacred Songs “uses a whole orchestra and singers,” Rushing said. “And I collaborated with an extraordinary artist, Du’Bois A’Keen. He became my creative collaborator as well as musical director. We had a residency [in New York City] for two weeks [where] we resurrected these spirituals. We played with different genres, how we could present these spirituals in R&B, hip-hop, calypso, funk, and rock ’n’ roll.”
Rushing continued: “Because everyone knew Revelations, I needed something to ground me as I went through the pressure of doing a piece where there would be lots of expectations or questions. ‘Is he trying to create another Revelations? Is this a prequel or a sequel?’ I said [to myself], ‘Matthew, what is your grounding? What’s your plumb line?’ It was probably one of the most rewarding choreographic experiences I’ve had up until now.”
Another highlight of the Ailey tour is the Bay Area premiere of Jamar Roberts’s Al-Andalus Blues, an abstract ensemble piece (set to Roberta Flack’s “Angelitos Negros” and Miles Davis’s Sketches of Spain) that evokes the African Moors.
Then there’s Finding Free, a collaboration between Hope Boykin, another former dancer with the company, and up-and-coming jazz pianist Matthew Whitaker. The piece explores the idea that you don’t become free by escaping struggles but by living and thriving in spite of them.
Lar Lubovitch’s Many Angels, which plays in both L.A. and Berkeley, is based on the expression “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” The soundtrack for the work, the Adagietto from Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, is enough to have anyone floating on clouds, but whether or not there are actual angels is a question left up to the audience.
Ronald K. Brown’s powerful Grace, in a new 25th-anniversary production, and Elisa Monte’s Treading, also in a new production, are among the other works being presented.
This season is significant for another reason. One of the most important artists in the Ailey family was Judith Jamison. Hired by Ailey in 1965, she became the company’s most iconic dancer before leaving in 1980. She returned in 1988 at Ailey’s request, serving as artistic associate and then stepping up to artistic director when Ailey died in 1989. After 22 years leading the company, she handed over the reins to Robert Battle in 2011. Jamison died on Nov. 9, 2024.
Rushing emphasized, “We dedicated our [New York] City Center season and [now] this tour to Judith Jamison. She was a person that lived legacy. Her every move was driven by making sure that she upheld Mr. Ailey’s legacy, and as a result, she was also creating her own. She always talked about holding on to our tradition, making sure that we have a clear understanding of where we came from, and being totally present. We are moving forward with that idea of always being connected to the past in order to move to the future.”
