MIAMI — As part of their 21-city U.S. tour led by Miami’s own Robert Battle, the beloved Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the world’s most popular dance companies, has returned to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County through Feb. 24.
Tickets starting at $25 are on sale at arshtcenter.org, alvinailey.org/miami or 305-949-6722.
Group discounts are available at 786-468-2326. The Arsht Center is at 1300 Biscayne Blvd, Miami. In his second season as artistic director, Battle continues to surprise and delight audiences with premieres and new productions, expanding his vision for the company by adding dynamic choreographic voices to the repertory that give Ailey’s extraordinary dancers more ways to inspire.
Season highlights include:
Another Night, a world premiere by rising young choreographer Kyle Abraham that innovatively showcases the Ailey dancers and the many dynamic facets of American dance with music composed by Dizzy Gillespie and recorded by Art Blakey.
Petite Mort, a ballet of breathtaking sensuality and visual surprises with fencing foils and elaborate ball gowns in an unforgettable duel featuring six couples. Set to two of Mozart’s most popular piano concertos, it is the first work by renowned European choreographer Jiří Kylián to appear in the Ailey repertory.
From Before, an ensemble piece blending the rhythms of African dance with Caribbean influences crafted by Garth Fagan, the Tony Award-winning choreographer of The Lion King, to a jazzy percussive score by Grammy winner Ralph MacDonald.
Strange Humors, Battle’s thrillingly intense duet set to John Mackey’s propulsive score for strings and African drum pitting two men against each other in surprising sequences that ignite with aggression and discord, mischievousness and humor, building to an exciting crescendo.
Grace, Ronald K. Brown’s landmark work, created for the troupe in 1999, is a spiritually-charged journey acknowledging the grace that surrounds us all featuring Duke Ellington’s classic Come Sunday, Roy Davis’ hit Gabriel, and the powerful rhythms of Fela Kuti’s Afro-Pop.
Encore performances from Battle’s acclaimed first season include Ohad Naharin’s unique and innovative Minus 16, which features improvisation and audience participation.
The inspiring finale of each performance will be the Ailey company’s American masterpiece Revelations.
On Friday, Feb. 22, at 11 a.m., a special Ailey Classics program will be offered as a free performance for public school students in the Miami area, including the Liberty City neighborhood in which Robert Battle grew up.
Moderated by one of the dancers, this hourlong educational performance gives students a taste of all the elements that compose an Ailey experience.
In addition, the Sunday, Feb. 24 performance will be attended by students from AileyCamp Miami, a
nationally-acclaimed summer program that uses dance as a vehicle for helping middle school students ages 11-14 to reach their full potential.
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