AAADT's Linda Celeste Sims. Photo by Andrew Eccles.
In a weekend-long run, 5th Avenue Theatre plays host to Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre (tickets available) for March 25, 26 and 27 performances, presented by Seattle Theatre Group. What makes this tour particularly special is what it celebrates: Judith Jamison’s final year as Artistic Director and the 50th anniversary of the signature work of Ailey’s company, Revelations.
The repertory they are bringing is anchored in history by Revelations but also looks forward, in a way, to the contemporary face of AADT with The Hunt, a 2001 piece by the company’s Artistic Director Designate and Jamison’s hand-picked successor, Robert Battle.
Jamison, who herself was chosen by Ailey to follow him as the artistic head of the company in 1989, is a tough act to follow. She’s one of those large-than-life figures that gets honored at the White House and gets to design her own Barbie. But when you can watch a dance company in this moment of transition, as the baton gets passed, the heightened stakes often make the performances that much more poignant…and thrilling.
Also featured will be the Seattle premieres of Anointed by former company member Christopher L. Huggins, Uptown by Matthew Russing, and Dancing Spirit by Ronald K. Brown. Camille Brown’s The Revolution of a Secured Feminine rounds out the rep.
True to form, AADT’s stop in Seattle is also an opportunity to educate–in the theatre and in the community. At each performance, the company will show a short film, Celebrating Revelations at 50, featuring rare interviews with Alvin Ailey and Jamison and historic footage of this seminal work. The company also brings a Revelations Residency to Denny Middle School, Aki Kurose Middle School and South Shore PK-8. Seattle is one of four cities chosen for this residency, in which company dancers use Revelations as an organizing theme for an in-depth study of language arts, social study and dance.
