Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In a terrifically eclectic “Revelations”-less evening, ALVIN AILEY unveils new works by Jamar Roberts and Kyle Abraham

• By drediman
• December 23, 2022
• No Comments

Earlier this week, I attended a performance by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center, where the beloved dance company is wrapping up its current winter/fall season residency. The eclectic, Revelation-less program featured two world premieres by two of today’s hottest Black choreographers, Jamar Roberts and Kyle Abraham. Before launching into the premieres, the evening commenced with an energized performance of Aszure Barton’s Busk, in my opinion one of the very best works in the company’s wide-ranging repertoire of dances. Barton’s work is full of striking imagery, making a potent connection between street performance and the sacred.

The evening continued with Roberts’ In a Sentimental Mood. The work is a marked departure for the choreographer, who is primarily known for his pure dance pieces (most notably Ode for Ailey and Emanon – In Two Movements for New York City Ballet), although those of you who streamed Cooped during lockdown will be familiar with Roberts’ capacity for moody angst and acute emotion. In contrast, his latest is distinctly of the dance theater mold, and it recounts the story — told in flashback — of a turbulent romantic relationship from passionate union to traumatic break-up. Overall, the pas de deux is gothic in tone, as if shot through the gauzy, film noir-ish lens of memory. Throughout, Roberts’ compact gestural movements are efficient and as deliberately placed as a playwright’s words.

The evening closed with Abraham’s Are You in Your Feelings?. Seemingly an ode to Black community and romantic relationships, the work for twelve dancers continues in the same vein as the acclaimed choreographer’s other “mixed-tape” works (this time around, the soundtrack is a tapestry of R&B and hip-hop tracks by the likes of Erykah Badu). Thankfully, his new work for Ailey is organic and laid-back — similar to the works he’s choreographed for his own company (e.g., An Untitled Love, which A.I.M by Kyle Abraham performed at BAM last winter) — limiting the potential for jarring shifts between episodes, as was the case in Abraham’s compelling but disjointed Love Letter (on shuffle) for New York City Ballet during the fall season.

Throughout, the Ailey dancers looked to be in terrific shape, effortlessly showcasing their astonishing versatility and impressive athleticism. Particularly fantastic were Courtney Celeste Spears in In a Sentimental Mood and Ashley Kaylynn Green in Are You in Your Feelings? Both are regal and luminous movers with fiery personality and attitude, and they embody the current state of the company.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
Dance
New York City Center
2 hours (including one intermission)
2022 Fall/Winter season concludes on December 25