Artistic Director

Continuing a 55-year relationship with Cal Performances, the magnificent dancers of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater return to campus for the company’s annual residency with an exuberant selection of recent works and Ailey masterpieces. Steeped in the sounds of jazz, blues, and hip-hop, the Ailey repertory celebrates the Black American experience, offering music and movement as expressions of pure joy and as opportunities for reflection and resistance. Past favorites and new works come alive through the commitment and artistry of the company’s athletic, expressive dancers, who inhabit choreography by creators like Rennie Harris, Aszure Barton, Twyla Tharp, Jamar Roberts, and Artistic Director Robert Battle with the same conviction as they reinvent classic Ailey gems like Revelations.

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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

University of California, Berkeley

Parsons Dance is a New York City based contemporary American dance company, internationally renowned for its energized, athletic ensemble work. Founded in 1985 by Artistic Director David Parsons and Tony Award-winning lighting designer Howell Binkley, the company has toured to more than 447 cities, 30 countries, and 5 continents and has appeared at such notable venues as The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sydney Opera House, Maison de la Dance, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Municipal de Rio de Janiero.

Rialto Center for the Arts

Georgia State University

”Eavesdrop pre-curtain at Bay Area dance shows and you’ll hear audience members sharing their top dance memories. High on almost everyone’s list? Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at UC Berkeley” (San Francisco Chronicle). Continuing a tradition that dates to the late 1960s, the breathtaking Ailey dancers return for the company’s annual campus residency. Robert Battle, who recently celebrated 10 years as artistic director, has doubled down during his tenure on the values that make this ensemble a crown jewel among American companies: artistic excellence, daring innovation, and profound cultural relevance. Recent works by innovators like Rennie Harris and Jamar Roberts honor and continue the legacy of timeless Ailey masterpieces like Revelations, telling powerful and life-affirming stories through stunning dance.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has for more than 50 years entertained generations, transcended barriers and celebrated the African American cultural experience. Now, under the leadership of visionary artistic director Robert Battle, don’t miss this Detroit favorite as they honor the legacy of their founder while developing the next generation of choreographers.

Detroit Opera House

Only a pandemic could keep the Ailey company away from the UC Berkeley campus, where it has been performing regularly for more than half a century—appearing at Zellerbach Hall more than any other place in the world outside of New York City.   Following the smashing success of its video presentation for Cal Performances at Home this June, the peerless Ailey dancers return—in person again after two long years!—as the company resumes its annual residency with programs that uplift and inspire. Under the leadership of Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to embody the legacy of its founder by celebrating artistic excellence, unbounded creativity, and the power of art to transform and engage. Expect daring new works placed in fascinating conversation with timeless classics like Ailey’s own Revelations.   “The Ailey company has always told stories about the black experience…but now the subject matter, imagery and idiom are sharper, more affecting and memorable. Ailey is doing what few major dance organizations do: It is keeping pace with the times, and the conversation” (The Washington Post).

Dance: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Ailey II is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. Founded in 1974, the awe-inspiring company embodies Alvin Ailey’s pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training, and community programs for all people. Their Miossi Hall concert will feature Robert Battle’s THE HUNT (2001), an excerpt from ALLELUIA (2002), SEARCHLIGHT (2021), Yannick Lebrun’s SAA MAGNI (2019), William Forsythe’s ENEMY IN THE FIGURE (1989), and Alvin Ailey’s REVELATIONS (1960).

Robert Battle

Artistic Director

Events

2 - 7 Apr, 2024

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater · Cal Performances

Mar 10, 2024

Rialto Center for the Arts · Parsons Dance

11 - 16 Apr, 2023

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater · Cal Performances

17 - 19 Mar, 2023

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater · Detroit Opera

Mar 29 - Apr 3, 2022

Dance: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater · Cal Performances

About

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