Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater
June 12 to 16th 2013
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER RETURNS TO
LINCOLN CENTER’S DAVID H. KOCH THEATER AFTER MORE THAN A DECADE
FOR A SEVEN-PERFORMANCE ENGAGEMENT FROM JUNE 12 TO 16, 2013
Artistic Director Robert Battle Announces a Diverse Repertory Highlighted by the
World Premiere of Four Corners by Celebrated Dance Maker Ronald K. Brown Plus
Encore Performances of 2012 – 2013 Season Premieres and Repertory Favorites
Tickets starting at 5 go on sale April 1, 2013.
New York - March 26, 2013 – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world’s most popular dance companies, returns to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for the first time in 13 years for a seven-performance engagement at the David H. Koch Theater June 12-16, 2013. Today, Artistic Director LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7423&Action=Follow+Link">Robert Battle announced repertory for the season anchored with a world premiere by celebrated choreographer Ronald K. Brown, along with encore performances of 2012-2013 season premieres and repertory favorites, including Alvin Ailey’s acclaimed American masterpiece Revelations.
“I’m proud to lead Ailey’s extraordinary dancers back to a renowned Lincoln Center stage after over a decade – it’s a special milestone for me and the Company,” said Artistic Director Robert Battle. “I’m also thrilled to announce the repertory, which will feature an inspiring new work from choreographer Ronald K. Brown, as well as the great choreographic voices of Alvin Ailey, Garth Fagan, JiAí Kylián, and Ohad Naharin.”
Ronald K. Brown’s newest work, Four Corners, is being created especially for the Company’s Koch Theater engagement and premieres on opening night. Set to the music of Carl Hancock Rux, Yacoub, and various artists, it brings to life the vision of four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds. Drawing inspiration from the lyrics of Rux’s “Lamentations,” Four Corners trails nine dancers on a powerful, challenging and hope-filled journey to seek a life of peace on the “mountaintop.”
The opening program (also scheduled for Friday evening, Saturday matinee, and Sunday evening), includes an encore performance of LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7418&Action=Follow+Link">Petite Mort - a ballet of visual surprises that showcases the sensuality, humor and virtuosity of Ailey’s dancers by renowned European choreographer JiAí Kylián.
Danced to two of Mozart’s most popular piano concertos, it blends a classical sensibility with a bold, modern wit in an unforgettable duel of the sexes featuring six couples.
The alternate program on Thursday evening (repeating on Saturday evening and Sunday matinee) features Garth Fagan’s LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7417&Action=Follow+Link">From Before, Ronald K. Brown’sLCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7422&Action=Follow+Link">Grace, and Robert Battle’s LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7413&Action=Follow+Link">Takademe. Ailey’s December premiere of From Before, a revered work blending the rhythms of African dance with Caribbean influences to a score by Grammy winner Ralph MacDonald, is the only staging for a company other than Garth Fagan Dance. Grace, which returned to the repertory this season, is infused with Brown’s signature blend of modern dance and West African idioms and set to Duke Ellington's classic "Come Sunday," Roy Davis' hit "Gabriel," and the powerful rhythms of Fela Kuti's Afro-Pop. Takademe contains the complex, tightly woven rhythms of Indian Kathak dance in a percussive, fast-paced, propulsive work mimicking the vocalized rhythmic syllables of Sheila Chandra’s jazzy song.
All programs, except for Saturday evening, will end with the inspiring LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7414&Action=Follow+Link">Revelations, an American classic acclaimed as a mustasee for all. Alvin Ailey’s signature piece is a tribute to his heritage and a testament to his genius. Using African-American religious music – spirituals – this suite fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul.
Saturday evening’s program will conclude with Ohad Naharin’s phenomenally inventive LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7415&Action=Follow+Link">Minus 16, danced to an eclectic score ranging from Dean Martin to mambo, techno to traditional Israeli music. Using Naharin’s acclaimed “Gaga” method to overcome old habits and make room for new movement and new experiences, this expansive ensemble work is unlike any other in the Ailey repertory in the way it challenges the dancers to improvise and breaks down barriers between audience and performers.
Tickets starting at 5 can be purchased beginning April 1st at the David H. Koch Box Office, by phone at 212-496-0600, and online atLCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7412&Action=Follow+Link">www.alvinailey.org or LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7419&Action=Follow+Link">www.lincolncenter.org. For further information about Ailey’s performances, preferred seating for Amex (Gold, Platinum & Centurion) members, and discounts for groups and students, please visit LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7412&Action=Follow+Link">www.alvinailey.org. Detailed schedule below.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is currently on a LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7421&Action=Follow+Link">21-city tour across the United States that returns to the tri-state area for performances on Mother’s Day weekend from May 10th to 12th at the beautiful Prudential Hall of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, where Ailey is the Principal Resident Affiliate. The opening night performance on Friday, May 10th will be a 70th Birthday Celebration for the beloved and legendary Judith Jamison, now Artistic Director Emerita of the Company and NJPAC trustee. For the first-time ever at NJPAC, the performance finale will feature Revelations with a cast of 50 filling the stage and aisles (performed May 10 & 11). For schedule and tickets, visit LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7420&Action=Follow+Link">www.njpac.org.
PRESS: For additional materials or photos, members of the media may visit pressroom.alvinailey.org
Toyota Avalon is the Official Vehicle Partner of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
American Express is the Official Card of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the lead funder of From Before
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gratefully acknowledges the support of Diageo during the Lincoln Center Engagement
American Airlines is the Official Airline of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
The 2012-2013 season is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
(L to R) Artistic Director Robert Battle with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater members. Photo by Andrew Eccles; AAADT in Ronald K. Brown’sGrace & Glenn Allen Sims & Linda Celeste Sims in JiAí Kylián’s Petite Mort. Photos by Paul Kolnik; AAADT’s Jamar Roberts. Photo by Andrew Eccles
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
June 12 – 16, 2013 at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater
Programming – Subject to Change
Wednesday, June 12, 7:30pm - Four Corners, Petite Mort, Revelations
Thursday, June 13, 7:30pm - From Before, Takademe, Grace, Revelations
Friday, June 14, 8:00pm - Four Corners, Petite Mort, Revelations
Saturday, June 15, 2:00pm - Four Corners, Petite Mort, Revelations
Saturday, June 15, 8:00pm - From Before, Takademe, Grace, Minus 16
Sunday, June 16, 3:00pm - From Before, Takademe, Grace, Revelations
Sunday, June 16, 7:30pm - Four Corner, Petite Mort, Revelations
CALENDAR LISTING INFORMATION
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world’s most popular dance companies, will present a seven-performance engagement at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater from June 12th to 16th, 2013. Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Ailey’s acclaimed dancers will perform a diverse repertory featuring Four Corners, a world premiere by the celebrated dance maker Ronald K. Brown, along with encores of this season’s premieres and repertory favorites, including Alvin Ailey’s American masterpiece Revelations. Tickets starting at 5 are on sale beginning April 1st and can be purchased at the David H. Koch Box Office, by phone at 212-496-0600, or online at LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7412&Action=Follow+Link">www.alvinailey.org or LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7419&Action=Follow+Link">www.lincolncenter.org. Preferred seating will be available for AmEx Gold, Platinum and Centurion Card members. Student tickets may be available on the day of the performance for 5 at the box office with a valid student ID (one per student – subject to availability). Additional discounts for groups of 10 or more are now available by phone 212-405-9082 or e-mail groupsales@alvinailey.org. For further information about Ailey’s performances, please visit LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7412&Action=Follow+Link">www.alvinailey.org.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
June 12 – 16, 2013 - David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center
20 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY (Columbus Avenue at 63rd Street)
(212) 496-0600 / LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7419&Action=Follow+Link">www.lincolncenter.org
The 2013 Lincoln Center Engagement: Highlights
Artistic Director Robert Battle and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will present a seven-performance engagement at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater from June 12th to 16th, 2013. Ailey’s acclaimed dancers will perform a diverse repertory featuring Four Corners, a world premiere by the celebrated dance maker Ronald K. Brown, along with encores of this season’s premieres and repertory favorites, including Alvin Ailey’s American masterpieceRevelations.
World Premiere
Four Corners (2013) choreographed by Ronald K Brown Music: Carl Hancock Rux, Yacoub & Various Artists
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Lincoln Center after more than a decade with a world premiere by celebrated choreographer Ronald K. Brown. Four Corners, set to the music of Carl Hancock Rux, along with various artists, brings to life the vision of four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds. Drawing inspiration from the lyrics of Rux’s “Lamentations,” Four Corners trails nine dancers as they rise to seek a life of peace on the “mountaintop;” a powerful and hope-filled journey of tribulation, devotion and triumph.
Ronald K. Brown is renowned for his signature blend of modern dance and West African idioms in works that often stimulate deeper examinations of issues of spirituality, community responsibility and liberation. This is Brown’s first collaboration with the critically-acclaimed Carl Hancock Rux, but his fifth work set on Ailey’s extraordinary dancers, who have become known as inspiring interpreters of his unique dance storytelling.
2012-13 Season Premieres and New Productions
LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7418&Action=Follow+Link">Petite Mort (1991) choreographed by JiAí Kylián Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Last year marked the company premiere of Petite Mort, a ballet of visual surprises that showcases the sensuality, humor and technical prowess of Ailey’s dancers, marking the first time a work by renowned European choreographer JiAí Kylián appeared in the Ailey repertory. Set to two of Mozart’s most popular piano concertos (Piano Concerto in A Major – Adagio, and Piano Concerto in C Major – Andante), it blends a classical sensibility with a bold, modern wit in an unforgettable duel featuring six couples. Born in Czechoslovakia in 1947, Kylián was a long-time Artistic Director of Nederlands Dans Theater has become recognized as one of the most influential choreographers of the past three decades, receiving many international awards and honors.
LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7417&Action=Follow+Link">From Before (1978) choreographed by Garth Fagan Music: Ralph MacDonald
From Before beautifully blends the rhythms of African dance and Caribbean influences, with movements distilled to their purest form by Jamaican-bornGarth Fagan, the Tony Award-winning choreographer of The Lion King. The Ailey company premiere was the first staging of this revered work, which features a jazzy percussive score by Grammy winner Ralph MacDonald, for a company other than Garth Fagan Dance. Mr. Fagan attributed its popularity with audiences all across the world to “the fluidity of Caribbean dance, the polyrhythms of African, the precision of ballet and the strength and weight of modern dance.” His many honors include the prestigious 1998 Tony Award for Best Choreography for The Lion King, as well as an Astaire Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award, and he holds an honorary doctorate from the Juilliard School. Fagan recently collaborated with Grammy-winning musician and composer Wynton Marsalis on the world premiere of his newest work, Lighthouse/Lightning Rod at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in celebration of BAM’s 150th anniversary and Garth Fagan Dance’s 40th anniversary.
LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7416&Action=Follow+Link">Grace (1999) choreographed by Ronald K. Brown Music: Duke Ellington, Roy Davis Jr., Paul Johnson & Fela Anikulapo Kuti
Ronald K. Brown’s landmark and rapturous Grace, created for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1999, returned to the repertory in 2012. Infused with Brown’s signature blend of modern dance and West African idioms, this moving journey acknowledging the grace that surrounds us all is set to Duke Ellington's classic "Come Sunday," Roy Davis' hit "Gabriel," and the powerful rhythms of Fela Kuti's Afro-Pop. Born in Brooklyn, Brown has created and presented dances since 1985 with his company Evidence and has received the Bessie Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the American Dance Festival Humphrey/Weidman/Limon Award, among others. Most recently he received accolades for his Astaire award-winning choreography for the Broadway revival of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.
Repertory Favorites
LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7415&Action=Follow+Link">Minus 16 (1999) choreographed by Ohad Naharin Music: Various Artists
A delightfully eclectic score ranging from Dean Martin to mambo, techno to traditional Israeli music, propels Ohad Naharin’s phenomenally inventive piece. Using Naharin’s acclaimed “Gaga” method to overcome old habits and make room for new movement and new experiences, this expansive ensemble work is unlike any other in the Ailey repertory in the way it challenges the dancers to improvise and breaks down barriers between audience and performers.
LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7414&Action=Follow+Link">Revelations (1960) choreographed by Alvin Ailey Music: Traditional Spirituals
An American classic acclaimed as a mustasee for all, Alvin Ailey’s signature masterpiece is a tribute to his heritage and a testament to his genius. Using African-American religious music – spirituals – this suite fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul.
LCE1:.3/;2-GLCE17.6&RE=MC&RI=4104585&Preview=False&DistributionActionID=7413&Action=Follow+Link">Takademe (1999) choreographed by Robert Battle Music: Sheila Chandra
The complex, tightly woven rhythms of Indian Kathak dance are deconstructed and abstracted in this percussive, fast-paced work, where clear shapes and propulsive jumps mimic the vocalized rhythmic syllables of Sheila Chandra’s jazzy score.
