Tag: alvin ailey american dance theater

February 2015: Ailey II

Our Ailey II cover girls, Shay Bland, Samantha Barriento, and Annellyse Munro, have proved their natural stage presence can easily carry over to the camera. Watch them navigate a photo shoot in our behind the scenes footage.

Letter to My Teenage Self: Rachael McLaren

(Photo by Andrew Eccles, courtesy Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater) Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Rachael McLaren moves with a ballet dancer’s refined footwork, a musical theater vet’s theatricality and a modern dancer’s unmistakable groundedness. After training at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School, McLaren performed in the Toronto cast of Mamma Mia! for two years […]

The Top 5 Moments from the Career Transition for Dancers Gala

Every year, Career Transition for Dancers—that fantastic organization that helps pro dancers figure out their post-dance lives—puts on a wonderfully over-the-top, star-studded gala. Attending it has become one of my favorite DS editor perks, because it’s always so darn joyful—it’s all about dancers celebrating dancers. Last night’s gala show was a smorgasbord of awesome performances […]

Revelations How-To

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s most recognizable work is Ailey’s Revelations—a masterpiece that’s been performed continuously since its premiere in 1960. Sylvia Waters, former artistic director of Ailey II, coached AAADT dancer Fana Tesfagiorgis through the opening steps of the haunting first section, “I Been ‘Buked.” (Rosalie O’Connor) About Revelations: “Alvin was inspired by his […]

Your Guide to NYC Dance Week 2014

June 19th marks the start of NYC Dance Week 2014—a.k.a. a huge perk for dancers spending their summer in the Big Apple. For 10 days (until June 28th), NYC Dance Week offers free(!!) and discounted dance and fitness classes throughout the city. So if you’re in or around NYC, be sure to check out these […]

Alvin Ailey + Spring Dresses = OMG I Can't

The secret’s out: Dancers are the ultimate in GLAM. (Obviously!) The world of high fashion realized this a while ago, and recent press is confirming what us dancers already knew. (See Teen Vogue‘s “Strictly Ballet” and Free People’s ballet collection—which, with the help of Ballet Zaida’s Oliver Endahl, eventually produced some beautiful dance photography.) This […]

Enemy Within's Big Digital Release

Back in October, we told you about all the gloriousness that is Enemy Within—you know, the United Artists Initiative dance film featuring New York City Ballet’s Tiler Peck, Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s Samantha Figgins, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Matthew Rushing, and Dragon House Crew Member Marquese “Nonstop” Scott? Yeah…it’s kind of a big deal. At […]

Meet Ailey II's Daphne Lee

(Photo by Eduardo Patino) Ailey II, the prestigious second company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has spent the last two months touring the world with four new works by Adam Barruch, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Jennifer Archibald and AAADT artistic director Robert Battle. This Tuesday, April 2, Ailey II returns home to the Ailey Citygroup Theater […]