Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre returns to the Music Center, April 2nd – 6th

By Jeff Zimerman.

The Music Center continues its 22nd season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center with a stupendous seven-performance engagement by the acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The New York-based Company’s dancers will captivate audiences at The Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion over five days, April 2–6, 2025, celebrating the life and legacy of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, who passed away in 2024. Led by Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing, the beloved company returns to L.A.’s performing arts center for its second of an exclusive four-year Southern California residency with Los Angeles premieres, new productions, repertory favorites and Ailey classics.

The first program (Program A) includes the L.A. premieres of Sacred Songs (2024), choreographed by Los Angeles native Matthew Rushing; Many Angels (2024), choreographed by Lar Lubovitch; and a restaging of Treading (1979), choreographed by Elisa Monte. Program A will be performed in the evenings of April 2, 4 and 6 and as a matinee on April 5. The second program (Program B) includes a new production of Ailey favorites: Grace (1999), choreographed by Ronald K. Brown; Ailey Excerpts, choreographed by Alvin Ailey, comprised of excerpts from Pas De Duke (1976), Masekela Langage (1969), Opus McShann (1988), Love Songs (1972) and For ‘Bird’ – With Love (1984); and Cry (1971), choreographed by Alvin Ailey, a tribute to Judith Jamison. Program B will be performed in the evenings of April 3 and 5 and as a matinee on April 6.

Every performance will conclude with the must-see American masterpiece Revelations, acclaimed around the world for sending hearts soaring and lifting audiences to their feet with its perfect blend of reverent grace and spiritual elation.

“Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater never ceases to amaze and delight Angelenos and dance enthusiasts of all ages. We are truly honored to have one of the world’s most beloved dance companies as our partner in residence and performing in Los Angeles at this moment in time,” said Rachel S. Moore, president and CEO of The Music Center. “The company’s unbridled spirit, coupled with the dancers’ extraordinary techniques, are a source of joy and solace many of us—still recovering from and rebuilding after this year’s wildfires—are seeking right now. With two distinct programs comprised of L.A. premieres, new productions of audience favorites, Ailey classics and a celebration of the company’s legendary Judith Jamison, our audiences can expect to be transported on a soulful journey filled with inspiration, hope and rejuvenation.”

In May 2023, The Music Center and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater jointly announced the company’s commitment to perform in an exclusive Southern California residency for four consecutive years at The Music Center’s iconic Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, beginning with the 2023–2024 season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center. The multi-year residency is the first of its kind in The Music Center’s 61-year history.

The L.A. premiere of Sacred Songs, created by Interim Artistic Director (and 1991 Grand Prize winner in the dance category of The Music Center’s Spotlight competition) Matthew Rushing, features music used in the original 1960 premiere of Alvin Ailey’s seminal Revelations but which was later omitted when the piece was edited into the current version that has captivated audiences for decades. Drawing inspiration from the roots of Mr. Ailey’s most venerated and consummate creation, this stirring new work resurrects and reimagines those spirituals with the collaboration of creative associate and musical director Du’Bois A’Keen, as an offering to audiences’ present need for lamentation, faith and joy.

Many Angels features Lar Lubovitch’s renowned lush choreography and musicality set to Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, inspired by the question “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” posed by 13th century theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, which illustrates that some questions have no logical response but are understood as a question of faith. In his first premiere for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Lubovitch says: “It is not really about angels. (Well, maybe a little.)”

In Elisa Monte’s Treading, two dancers come together in fluid, intricate movements that combine with Steve Reich’s meditative music to create an aura of mystery and sensuality.

Celebrating its 25th anniversary, Ronald K. Brown’s spellbinding Grace is set to Duke Ellington’s classic Come Sunday, Peven Everett’s hit Gabriel and the irresistible pulse of Fela Kuti’s afro-pop music. Grace depicts individuals on a journey to the promised land, expanding from a single angel-like figure in white to the fireball intensity of 12 powerful dancers. The secular and sacred meet this tour-de-force connecting African and American dance.

When Alvin Ailey’s Cry premiered at New York City Center in 1971, it was an immediate sensation. It propelled Judith Jamison, who was Mr. Ailey’s muse and who would become the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, to international stardom in the dance world with her unparalleled grace and power. The female soloist represents all Black women, depicting their African origins, the trials and tribulations they have endured, and their joyful triumph over those hardships in this 16-minute solo. To pay tribute to the late Judith Jamison, there will be performances of the finale of Cry set to the Voices of East Harlem singing Right On, Be Free.

Since its debut in 1960, Alvin Ailey’s Revelations has been moving audiences with its powerful storytelling and soul-stirring music, evoking timeless themes of determination, hope and transcendence. An intimate reflection of Mr. Ailey’s childhood memories of growing up in the South and attending services at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Texas, Revelations pays homage to the rich cultural heritage of the African American community and explores the emotional spectrum of the human condition.

“This season we celebrate the lineage and legacy of Alvin Ailey and Judith Jamison, who paved the way for the extraordinary artistry of today’s choreographers and dancers,” said Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing. “As I return to my hometown with the Company for inspiring performances, I reflect on my unexpected journey since seeing Ailey for the first time as a student in Los Angeles – the same city where a young Alvin Ailey discovered the life-changing power of dance. It is so meaningful for me to be back at The Music Center to share the area premiere of my Sacred Songs and present all this season’s repertory demonstrating that dance is both a reflection of our past and a guide to our future, as Ailey’s rich story continues to be written together with audiences.”

Audiences also will be enthralled by Coral Dolphin, another Los Angeles native, who is among the Ailey company’s renowned dancers bringing their passionate spirit and exceptional technique to The Music Center stage. Dolphin, who joined the company in 2023, will be one of the lead dancers in the new productions of Grace and Treading.

To engage and inspire students and educators with dance and movement, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s residency will include a special matinee performance at The Music Center for more than 3,000 middle school and high school students on Friday, April 4, 2025. During the week of March 10, 2025, Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs will also visit two middle schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District for a weeklong arts-learning experience entitled “Revelations: An Interdisciplinary Approach.” The program will entail classroom workshops for students to examine the work and historical impact of Alvin Ailey, a writing project on students’ self-reflection and a discussion on the choreography of Mr. Ailey’s masterpiece, Revelations. These students will then attend the company’s student matinee performance at The Music Center.

Additionally, The Music Center has arranged, in partnership with non-profit organization EngAGE, Inc., for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to provide an AileyDance for Active Aging workshop for older adults to express themselves through movement at The Piedmont Senior Apartments in North Hollywood.

Tickets to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performances are available for purchase now by visiting musiccenter.org/ailey or calling (213) 972-0711.