Preeminent modern dance company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the NAC’s Southam Hall, April 17, 2012 to present an evening of mixed repertoire, drawn from the company’s more than 50-year history. The occasion marks their first Ottawa appearance since the July 2011 appointment of Robert Battle as the company’s new Artistic Director. The program will feature two of Battle’s works, two by company founder Alvin Ailey, and a piece by former Principal dancer Ulysses Dove. The performance is sold out, but those still interested should check for last minute returns.
Robert Battle’s contributions to the evening include Takademe and The Hunt. The former is one of the choreographer’s earliest creations, mixing bravura, humour, and high-flying movement in a savvy deconstruction of Indian Kathak dance rhythms. The Hunt is an athletic work performed by six of the company’s male dancers that explores the predatory side of human nature and the primitive thrill of the hunt.
Urban Folk Dance is a 1990 work created by Ulysses Dove for his Ulysses Dove and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and later integrated into the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater repertoire. In it, two isolated couples search for connection as they engage in ferocious power struggles resonating with emotional intensity and razor sharp physicality.
The evening will open and close with a pair of works by company founder Alvin Ailey. Streams, was Ailey’s first full-length creation without a plot. While there is an absence of a narrative, Ailey arouses different thoughts and feelings through the movement and the music. They invoke images and sensations inspired by various bodies of water, from gentle brook to turbulent ocean, set to a percussion score by Miloslav Kabelac.
Closing the program is Alvin Ailey’s signature 1960 work Revelations. Using African-American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs, and holy blues, this piece fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. The enduring classic is a tribute to African-American cultural heritage and to Ailey’s genius.

“No one inhabits the stage like Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater… these dancers turn every movement onstage into a testament for living.”
- San Francisco Chronicle

 
Streams
Choreography: Alvin Ailey
Restaged by: Masazumi Chaya
Music:  Miloslav Kabelac
Lighting: Chenault Spence

Urban Folk Dance
Choreography: Ulysses Dove
Restaged by: Masazumi Chaya
Music: Michael Torke
Costumes and set: Andrew Jackness
Lighting: Mark Stanley

Takademe
Choreography: Robert Battle
Music: Sheila Chandra
Costume: Missoni
Costume recreated by: Jon Taylor
Lighting: Burke Wilmore

The Hunt
Choreography: Robert Battle
Assistant to the choreographer: Erika Pujikic
Music: Les Tambours du Bronx
Costumes: Mia McSwain
Lighting: Burke Wilmore

Revelations
Choreography: Alvin Ailey
Music: Traditional
Decor and costumes: Ves Harper
Costumes for “rocka my soul”: Barbara Forbes
Lighting: Nicola Cernovitch

Duration: 2 hours including 2 intermissions

Thanks to the support of The Embassy of The United States of America, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Rehearsal Director Matthew Rushing, will be teaching a dance master class to local Ottawa students on Monday April 16th.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs in the NAC’s Southam Hall on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $38.74, $48.43, $59.19 and $75.00 for adults and $20.87, $25.72, $31.10 and $39.00 for students (upon presentation of a valid student ID card).
Groups of 10 or more save 15% to 20% off regular ticket prices; to reserve your seats, call 613-947-7000, ext. 634 or e-mail grp@nac-cna.ca.
Tickets are available for purchase:
• In person at the NAC Box Office
• At all Ticketmaster outlets
• By telephone from Ticketmaster, 1-888-991-2787 (ARTS)
• Online through the Ticketmaster link on the NAC’s website (www.nac-cna.ca)
• A service charge applies on all purchases made through Ticketmaster
This production is eligible for the Trinity Live Rush program. Full-time students aged 13-29 with a valid Live Rush membership may buy up to two tickets per performance at the discounted price of only $12 per ticket. Live Rush tickets are available from 10 a.m. on the day before the performance until 6 p.m. on the day of the performance. This includes all available seats, including the best seats in the house. Check out liverush.ca for information on the Trinity Live Rush program.

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For more information, please call:
Eleri Evans
Marketing and Communications Officer, Dance
National Arts Centre
613-947-7000 ext. 379; e-mail: eleri.evans@nac-cna.ca
or visit the NAC website at www.nac-cna.ca