The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said on Monday that it is reaching across America for Black History Month with inspiring performances, auditions, open workshops, residencies, and portraits of the Ailey Documentary Series.
The prestigious Harlem-based theater company said its 2024-25 season is dedicated to the life and legacy of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, with a United States tour, inspiring audiences coast-to-coast in cities like Washington, DC; Atlanta; Philadelphia; Chicago; Detroit; New Orleans; Los Angeles; and Boston before concluding in Newark, NJ, on Mother’s Day weekend, May 9–11.
“Audiences will be treated to four world premieres from choreographers inspired by founder Alvin Ailey’s artistry: Sacred Songs by Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing, Finding Free by Hope Boykin, Many Angels by Lar Lubovitch, and Al-Andalus Blues by Jamar Roberts,” Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said.
It said the season also includes the 25th anniversary staging of Ronald K. Brown’s rapturous blockbuster Grace and a new production of Elisa Monte’s mesmerizing duet Treading.
Edges of Ailey, the first ever large-scale museum exhibition to reflect on Alvin Ailey’s life, work, and legacy, enters its final days at the Whitney Museum of American Art before it closes on Feb. 9, 2025.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said the installation has drawn “massive crowds” to view works by more than 80 artists including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Faith Ringgold, and Kara Walker; letters from Duke Ellington and Langston Hughes; archival footage of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and Alvin Ailey’s own diaries.
The company said the “multifaceted exhibition” also encompasses a suite of live dance performances—including upcoming presentations from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II—and workshops for all ages led by Ailey teaching artists.
As part of the historic exhibition, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said the Whitney Museum also launched Alvin Ailey and Me, “an ambitious project that asks members of the public to share personal stories about how Alvin Ailey’s enduring legacy and influence has impacted them.”
All eight episodes of Portrait of Ailey, the documentary series about Alvin Ailey’s life, influences, career, and artistry, are now available to view through PBS Learning Media.
Created by Ailey II Artistic Director Emerita Sylvia Waters with Ailey Archivist Dominique Singer, the theater company said Portrait of Ailey explores Ailey’s life through “archival footage and never-before-heard interviews with him and his closest collaborators.”
It said individual episodes focus on. Ailey’s childhood growing up in Texas, his earliest days as a dancer with the Lester Horton Dance Company, his “meteoric rise” as a world-famous choreographer, and his philosophies on training and nurturing hundreds of dancers.
Ailey II, the celebrated second company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, continues the second leg of its 28-city national tour, with “enchanting performances throughout the country,” Feb. 2 through May 1, 2025.
“Bringing their ‘off-the-charts-energy’ to stages in Albuquerque, Miami and more, Ailey II’s 2024-25 repertory features the world premiere of Down the Rabbit Hole by Houston Thomas, as well as returning favorites by Alvin Ailey, Judith Jamison, Baye & Asa, and Ailey II Artistic Director Francesca Harper,” Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said.
It said that included in this “exciting multi-city tour” is Ailey II’s annual New York City engagement, “captivating audiences from Mar. 26–April 6 with electrifying performances at the Ailey Citigroup Theater.”
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said the Ailey School is traveling across the country in search of the next great dancing talent for the 2025-26 academic year.
It said auditions for the Professional Division’s (ages 16–25) Summer Intensive, Certificate Program, Independent Study Program, and Scholarship Program, as well as the Junior Division’s (ages 12–15) Summer Intensive, are underway with upcoming stops in Silver Spring, MD; Boston; Dallas; Miami; Rome, Italy; and New York City.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said dancers interested in attending the 2025 Summer Intensive, a multi-week program that invites participants to experience the very best in dance training, can submit video auditions for consideration.
The deadlines for video auditions for the Summer Intensive programs is April 1 and for the Professional Division 2025-26 school year programs is May 1. International students applying to the Professional Division 2025-26 school year are advised to apply by April 1.
Throughout February, Ailey Extension invites people all over the globe to honor Black History Month and celebrate Judith Jamison’s contributions to dance through special workshops and events.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said first is a two-day in-studio Dunham Intensive Workshop, Feb. 7–8, “exploring the unique artistic relationship of cultural icons Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey with former Company dancer April Berry.”
On Feb. 15, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said former company member Khalia Campbell offers a hybrid Remembering Judith Jamison: Divining Workshop, sharing excerpts of Judith Jamison’s first major work for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Ailey Extension instructor Maguette Camara welcomes the young and old alike for an in-studio West African Family Day Workshop on Feb. 16, then guides participants through the free in-studio Honoring Judith Jamison: Dancing Spirit Workshop on Thursday, Feb. 20, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said.
On Sat., Feb. 22, it said renowned former company dancers Sarita Allen, Renee Robinson, and Tracy Inman come together to discuss Jamison’s cultural impact during a Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Judith Jamison Panel, accessible to both in-person and online audiences.
Continuing Alvin Ailey’s vision of building an extended cultural community while uplifting people of all ages and backgrounds through dance, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said its Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs presents “a variety of inspiring activities in cities across the country in conjunction with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s national tour.”
It said programs in Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, Detroit, Berkeley, Boston, and Washington, DC, include school-time performances that introduce young audiences to “the magic of Ailey; the popular curriculum-based Revelations Residencies for middle school students; AileyDance for Active Aging workshops for adults 50-plus “to express themselves through movement; and more.”
Master teacher and former Ailey star Nasha Thomas will also teach free Revelations Celebration Community Workshops in Detroit (Mar. 2) and Boston (Mar. 23), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said.
It said its “unparalleled” national outreach continues this summer with the “life-changing” AileyCamp, a six-week program for youth ages 11–14 offered at almost no cost to participants.
In 10 cities nationwide, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said AileyCamp helps youth develop their “self-confidence in an atmosphere of warmth, respect and trust.”
For more details on Ailey’s community programming, visit ailey.org/community.
