University Of Alabama At Birmingham:

Press release from the University of Alabama at Birmingham:

November 16, 2021

Alvin Ailey American Dance TheaterPhotography: Andrew Eccles will perform in Birmingham on Feb. 8, 2022, presented by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center.

The performance will be at 7 p.m., in the BJCC Concert Hall, 2130 Richard Arrington Jr. Blvd. North.

Tickets are $78, $68, $58 and $38. For tickets, call the ASC Box Office at 205-975-2787 or visit Ticketmaster. This performance is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. 

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized as a vital American “Cultural Ambassador to the World,” grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by American dance icon Alvin Ailey and a group of young African American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance.  

Marking a decade of guiding the Company forward, Artistic Director Robert Battle is leading Ailey’s renowned artists back to the stage with a season filled with premieres, repertory favorites and Ailey classics, including the masterpiece “Revelations” – which brought Birmingham audiences to their feet during 2018 performances. When Ailey began creating dances, he drew upon his “blood memories” of Texas, the blues, spirituals and gospel as inspiration, which resulted in the creation of “Revelations” – his most popular and critically acclaimed work.

Alvin Ailey’s signature work pays homage to and reflects the cultural heritage of the African-American, which Ailey considered one of America’s richest treasures – “sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.”

The Ailey company has performed for an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents — as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings and online platforms. Although he created 79 ballets over his lifetime, Ailey maintained that his company was not exclusively a repository for his own work. Today, the company continues Ailey’s mission by presenting important works of the past and commissioning new ones. In all, more than 235 works by over 90 choreographers have been part of the Ailey company’s repertory.

This press release was produced by the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The views expressed here are the author’s own.