March, 2009

 The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is on tour celebrating its Golden Anniversary (2008).  The late Alvin Ailey founded the company in 1958 with the specific goal of combining modern dance with the pride he had developed for black culture.  Born in Roger, Texas in 1931, Ailey grew up in a racially intolerant environment.   He always felt the Black Church as well as local juke joints were two of the positive influences in his life.  According to him, they enabled him to feel good about being black.  Included in the tour are two of Ailey's earliest masterpieces created to pay homage to the support he felt from the juke joints and the Black Church.
 
Blues Suite, a tribute to songs of lost love, despair, protest, and anger, was choreographed in 1958.  The signature, universally acclaimed Revelations was created in 1960 in honor of the Black Church.  In addition to Ailey's works, also incuded in the tour is Suite Otis, a tribute to the late Otis Redding, choreographed by George Faison, an Alvin Ailey protégé.
 
On the day these three performances were presented together at the Kennedy Center, it didn't matter which performance was on stage, the audience loved it all.  They appeared to be identifying with both the dance movements and the music. Songs such as Good Morning Blues, Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham, and Otis Redding's Try a Little Tenderness got overwhelming responses from both the young and the old.  A young man in his 20's says he was unfamiliar with Otis Redding.  When asked by an older person sitting next to him what he thought of Redding's music, he said it was awesome.  His body movements and facial expressions made it clear, the music was speaking to his soul. 
 
Judith Jamison, also an Alvin Ailey protégé, took over the company upon Ailey's death in 1989.  She has been true to his dream of honoring black culture with modern dance.  Just as Ailey passed it on to her, the dance movements may be based on ballet, modern dance, jazz, or African dance.  The music may come from the juke joints, the Black church, or the drums of Africa.  It doesn't matter, it's all good, it all speaks to the human soul, it's all a gift from God. 
 
Fifty years ago Alvin Ailey was open to doing a new thing.  Who would have thought it, the church and the juke joint positively sharing the same stage.  May his legacy continue to encourage new generations to remain open to sharing, enjoying, and contributing to the fullness of life in new and exciting ways.    
 
 
 Diane Brenda Williams, D.Min