The year 1958 marked the first official performance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and they haven’t let up. Celebrating its 50th year, the company is touching down in Atlanta once again, for five performances only at the Fabulous Fox Theatre from Feb. 19-22.
Founded by a legendary American dance visionary, AAADT is a multi-racial dance company that has toured the world. Since the 1970s, Atlanta has been an important stop on the tour. This year is extra special, not only for the milestone, but also because the performance contains some surprises that Georgians have got to love. To mark this year’s amazing performance, Metromix has compiled a top 10 of interesting facts about the group:
1. Judith Jamison, one of Alvin Ailey’s most celebrated dancers whom he handpicked to succeed him as the company’s artistic director, studied dance with Mayor Shirley Franklin in their native Philadelphia when they were children.
2. The late great Coretta Scott King once hosted Ailey’s dancers at her home.
3. "Suite Otis," an Ailey signature that debuted in 1971 and is the highlight of the February 20, 21, 22 evening performances, is all about romance and fun. The piece is danced to the music of Georgia great Otis Redding.
4. World premiere piece "Go in Grace," choreographed by Hope Boykin and based around the African proverb “it takes a village to raise a child,” will be danced to a commissioned score from Sweet Honey in the Rock, who will also perform live. Georgia native Bernice Johnson Reagon founded the Grammy Award-winning female vocal ensemble steeped in African American musical tradition in 1973.
5. There’s an Alvin Ailey Barbie, which was the first ever inspired by any dance company. Designed by Judith Jamison, this Barbie is captured in a leaping moment and dressed in a stunning white lace number from Ailey’s “Wade in the Water” piece from the signature work "Revelations."
6. Ailey Extension faculty member Jason Samuels Smith was a featured dancer in the OutKast movie "Idlewild."
7. In 1974, Atlanta’s own Gladys Knight narrated the CBS special "Ailey Celebrates Ellington," in which Ailey dancers showcased their stunning moves to the music of jazz great Duke Ellington.
8. Longtime Atlanta-area resident and Spelman grad Keshia Knight-Pulliam was on hand with her Cosby family for "Bill Cosby Salutes Alvin Ailey," which aired on NBC in 1989, the same year of Alvin Ailey’s untimely death at age 58.
9. As part of its 20th anniversary in July 2008, the National Black Arts Festival honored Judith Jamison and her role in spreading the Ailey vision with "Dance! A Tribute To Judith Jamison."
10. A February 2008 New York Times article reported that Judith Jamison informed the dancers of Alvin Ailey, as well as the stage crew, that she would retire as the company’s artistic director in 2011. She was in a backstage studio at the Fox Theater when she made the announcement.
