Sadler's Wells Theatre - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Archived Show

Homage to Alvin Ailey

Tue 4, Fri 7, Tue11, Fri 14 7.30pm & Sat 8 2.30pm

Night Creature (1975)

Choreography: Alvin Ailey
Music: Duke Ellington
Running time: 16 mins

"Night creatures, unlike stars, do not come OUT at night-they come ON, each thinking that before the night is out he or she will be the star"
Duke Ellington

One of Ailey's most classically choreographed ballets juxtaposed within Ellington's jazz idiom - the dance captivates with Ailey's sexy nocturnal rituals that propel the movement into a fast paced climatic catharsis. Ellington first composed the phenomenal, "Suite For Orchestra" in 1955, later adding the second and third movements in 1963. Night Creature is the definitive Ailey homage to the exuberance of The Duke's jazz.

"One of Mr. Ailey's happiest works"
The New York Times

Pas De Duke (1976)

Choreography: Alvin Ailey
Restaged by: Masazumi Chaya
Composer: Duke Ellington

Originally created as a showcase for Judith Jamison and Mikhail Baryshnikov, Pas de Duke is Alvin Ailey's modern-dance translation of a classical pas de deux, celebrating the musical genius of Duke Ellington. Ailey's choreography brilliantly captures the exuberance of the dancers' star qualities and techniques as the duo mirror each other toe-to-toe and line-for-line in this playful, jazzy dance. The New York Times praised the work as 'one of those special dances that lives in new ways with each new set of performers"

The River (1970)

Choreography: Alvin Ailey
Restaged by: Masazumi Chaya
Music: Duke Ellington
Running time: 32 mins

A legendary collaboration between renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey and musical genius Duke Ellington, The River celebrates birth, life and rebirth. Ailey's choreographic allegory combines modern dance, Classical ballet and Jazz to convey the mutability of water on its voyage to the sea - much like the journey of life. The River 'shows Mr. Ailey at his inventive best,' declared The New York Times.

Revelations (1960)

Choreography: Alvin Ailey
Music: Traditionals Spirituals
Running time: 32 mins

AAADT's jubilant signature piece is one of the mist uplifting ballets in the modern dance repertoire, and American classic and one of the best-loved pieces of dance in the whole world. "In all the dance world there is nothing quite like Revelations and the ardour it evokes" The Washington Times