MLK's speeches translated into dance as Alvin Ailey troupe comes to the Dorothy Chandler
The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation presents dance performances, training and education, and community programs using the beauty and humanity of the African-American heritage and other cultures to unite people of all races, ages, and backgrounds. Untitled America, a haunting work that MacArthur “genius grant” winner and department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance professor Kyle Abraham developed over 2015 and 2016, shines a light on the impact of the prison system on African-American families.
"Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gives the first of six performances at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Wednesday, and woven through the run will be one prominent thread: social justice.
Through Sunday the company will rotate nine works — three of them West Coast premieres, including “Untitled America,” MacArthur fellow and choreographer Kyle Abraham’s meditation on the effects of the prison system on African American families.
Also among the new works is veteran Ailey dancer and choreographer Hope Boykin’s “r-Evolution, Dream.” The work, Boykin’s third ballet for Ailey and a Music Center commission, is based on Martin Luther King Jr.’s orations. Boykin commissioned a score from jazz composer Ali Jackson, and Tony Award-winner Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr in “Hamilton”) supplies the narration for the ballet, which features 15 dancers."— Joseph Carman, Mar. 8, 2017
Read the interview with choreographer Hope Boykin on the Los Angeles Times website.
Read more about UCLA Arts professor and Alvin Ailey choreographer Kyle Abraham here.