Keeping them on their toes

When Alvin Ailey and his dance theater first toured China in 1985, the country had not been open to the world very long. Even those familiar with the Russian-style Swan Lake or the Chinese Red Detachment of Women could barely comprehend Ailey's Revelations and Blue Suite, which were edgy even to the American dance scene when they were choreographed in late 1950s and early 1960s.

But some 20 years later, when Alvin Ailey's American Dance Theater (AAADT) returned to Beijing with Revelations, they brought the house down at the sold-out Poly Theater. Singer Cheng Fangyuan, who watched an Ailey show in the United States, says the troupe is one of her favorite modern dance companies. Thanks to New Music Entertainment, which presented AAADT's 2004 Beijing tour, the legendary company will return to Beijing with two performances at the Tianqiao Theater on Friday and Saturday and at Shanghai's Grand Theater on October 29 and 30, as part of the Shanghai International Art Festival.

In March l958, Alvin Ailey, a young dancer and choreographer from Texas and a group of young African-American dancers started the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Their style defied classification.

Ailey drew upon his "blood memories" of Texas - the blues and gospel - as inspirations to create his most popular and critically acclaimed work Revelations.

"Ailey was neither modern nor balletic, but he was flashy and funky - more athletic and sexy than any viewer had a right to expect, and audiences flocked to him," says Jin Xing, the famous Chinese contemporary dancer and choreographer who once trained at the AAADT.

After Ailey's tragic, early death in 1989, Judith Jamison, the tall, lithe, unorthodox dancer whose career he had nurtured, and for whom he created such new classics as Cry, an Homage to Black Women, took over the company. Since then, she has seen to it that new choreographer's works are added each year, but the core of the company, its early works, have been lovingly preserved and ecstatically received all over the world.

"Mr Ailey left me a road map that works, and you don't change what isn't broken. The company constantly reinvents itself, with the celebration of the rich African-American culture and the American modern dance tradition that welcomes all cultures. There has always been an open door at Ailey that welcomes a variety of talented dancers, choreographers and designers," Jamison says.

"So, with my vision, and the talented people that I surround myself with, the company is ever-evolving and continues to extend Mr Ailey's pioneering legacy out into the world."

In addition to the inspiring Revelations, the company's third Beijing tour will present two new works: Twyla Tharp's The Golden Section and Jamison's Love Stories.

"We're looking forward to showcasing new ballets alongside Ailey's beloved masterpiece," Jamison says.

During the Beijing tour, Jamison will meet dancers with the Beijing Modern Dance Company and local modern dance followers.

"Dance is an individual expression of the human spirit," she says.

"Dancers are the same all over the world. They all experience what it feels like inside to be in control of one's body, to sustain and revel in that temple of which you are in charge. There is a joy - an inner and outer sense of oneness in spirit that everyone personalizes with their own stamps. Besides releasing endorphins, dancing gives you a feeling of being free within yourself. But, of course, you need major training and technique to reach that place."

(China Daily 10/24/2007 page18)