The exquisite Linda Celeste Sims will perform in a new production of Twyla Tharp’s The Golden Section in annual Ailey winter season at City Center (photo by Paul Kolnik)
New York City Center
130 West 56th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
November 29 – December 31, $25-$200
212-581-1212
www.alvinailey.org
www.nycitycenter.org
“When I think about why people should come to see the company right now, this is a moment in time where it is important to take a stand, and sometimes taking a stand means taking a seat to see something that represents the best of humanity,” Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater artistic director Robert Battle says in a video about the troupe’s upcoming season at City Center. “When Alvin Ailey says that dance comes from the people, and should always be delivered back to the people . . . he wanted this company to be a mirror to society so that people could ultimately see how beautiful they are.” The season kicks off November 29 with a special opening-night “Modern American Songbook” gala program consisting of George Faison’s Suite Otis, two parts of Judith Jamison’s Love Stories, the Ray Charles section of Camille A. Brown’s The Groove to Nobody’s Business, the central duet in David Parsons’s Shining Star, and Revelations with live music. This year’s world premieres are Gustavo Ramirez Sansano’s Victoria and longtime Ailey dancer Jamar Roberts’s Members Don’t Get Weary, with company premieres of Battle’s Mass and Johan Inger’s Walking Mad, while there are new productions of Talley Beatty’s Stack-Up, Twyla Tharp’s The Golden Section, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s Shelter. Other highlights include Battle’s Ella and In/Side, Billy Wilson’s The Winter in Lisbon, Ailey’s Night Creature, Mauro Bigonzetti’s Deep, Ulysses Dove’s Episodes, Ronald K. Brown’s Four Corners, and Ailey dancer Hope Boykin’s r-Evolution, Dream. On December 17 at 7:30, “Celebrating the Men of Ailey” features Clifton Brown, Vernard Gilmore, Yannick Lebrun, Glenn Allen Sims, and Roberts performing works by Ailey, Battle, and Gilmore. In addition, the Saturday family matinees will be followed by Q&As with Ailey dancers. The season comes to a close with a New Year’s Eve party boasting a one-night-only, to-be-announced program that concludes with Revelations.