Cosby Celebrates Ailey was a the 1989 Television Special that showcased the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The show was recorded December 12, 1988 but not broadcast until over a year later. When the show finally aired it was as a tribute to Alvin Ailey who had died December 1, 1989. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Alvin Ailey dancer emeritus Dudley Williams would have celebrated his 85 birthday on August 18th. And although time is a very fickle and forgetful mistress Dudley remains of one the stars of the “Golden Age” of the Ailey company. His name is synonymous with dancers and choreographers such as Talley Beatty, John Butler, Louis Falco, George Faison, Miguel Godreau, Judith Jamison, Linda Kent, Kelvin Retardier,|Clive Thompson, Sara Yarborough, Estelle Spurlock and Donna Wood to name a few.
Ronald K. Brown’s Four Corners was originally commissioned for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2014. Dancers depict spiritual seekers amid four angels standing on the corners of the earth, holding the four winds. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Another bout of Covid (our third slow dance) prevented me from seeing the new works presented during the first and second weeks of the Ailey season. When Covid and I finished our Rumba, I attended an All-Ailey matinee featuring four works, Night Creature, Cry, Survivors and Revelations. Continue reading
From the Ailey Press Office
The Board of Trustees of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation today announced that Robert Battle, Artistic Director of Ailey since 2011, has informed them that he needs to focus on his health and has submitted his resignation. The Board has accepted Mr. Battle’s resignation with regret. Mr. Battle will remain available to the Board through December 31, 2023. Continue reading
Ulysses Dove proclaiming a thoroughly exhilarating vision of female power and strength in Vespers. Inspired by Dove’s memories of his grandmother’s place of worship, this dramatic work showcases the athleticism and grace of six female dancers who are propelled by Mikel Rouse’s profound electronic score. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presented a Brooklyn dance series June 6th thru 11th at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). The six-day seven performance series offered two well curated programs of new works and Ailey classics. The Saturday evening performance consisted of four works by four modern dance luminaries, Kyle Abraham, Robert Battle, Ron Brown and Paul Taylor. Continue reading
Donald McKayle’s 1959 masterwork, Rainbow Round My Shoulder, is acclaimed as a modern dance classic. A searing dramatic narrative, it is set on a chain gang in the American south where prisoners work, breaking rock from “can see to can’t see.” Their aspirations for freedom come in the guise of a woman, first as a vision then as a remembered sweetheart, mother, and wife. The songs that accompany their arduous labor are rich in polyphony and tell a bitter, sardonic, and tragic story. It was created for the Donald McKayle Dance Company, and has been in the repertoire of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Batsheva Dance Company and Dayton Contemporary Dance, among others. The cast in the video excerpt includes Donald McKayle and Mary Hinkson. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
Clive Thompson danced in the Golden Era of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Officially becoming a permanent member in 1970 when choreographer Ailey was entering a creative zenith. He viral good looks, skillful partnering, and his ability to capture audiences in both dramatic and abstract roles made him Ailey royalty. Continue reading
By Walter Rutledge
There is only one George Faison! Dancer, choreographer, teacher, director, playwright, social activist, entrepreneur and friend. George has been one of my inspirations and artistic standard bearers for most of my career. In 2017 the Ailey American Dance Theater presented an excerpt of Suite Otis, his iconic tribute to Otis Redding. Faison sat down to talk about this masterwork, experiences in the Ailey Company and his arts aesthetic. Happy Birthday George.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will present an excerpt of George Faison’s masterwork Suite Otis at their New York City Center season opening night gala, Wednesday, November 29 2017. Choreographed in 1971 for the George Faison Universal Dance Experience the work joined the Ailey repertoire in 1977. 40 years after it’s Ailey debut Suite Otis continues to excite and entertain audiences with verve, aplomb, fleet footed technique and imaginative Euclidean storytelling.
The company will perform the finale section set to Otis Redding’s Tenderness. The full cast section reintroduces the dancers creating a visually exciting yet compelling epilog. Throughout the work Faison (the imperial storyteller) does what every choreographer should do- invites us into his vision and delivers with clarity, focus and impeccable choreographic timing.
Balletomanes still long for the return of old fashion honest storytelling- the hallmark of Ailey’s original company. In Suite Otis Faison’s articulate use of the dance narrative genre captures the majesty and universal humanity of both Otis Redding’s music and the black dance experience. This gave him a voice in an era when Black American dance and culture had started to becoming a global force.
Suite Otis- George Faison
What Faison did (and continues to do) is to keep the dance/theatre aesthetic in the forefront of the arts conversation. Tenderness will be performed for one performance only on Wednesday, November 29 for tickets and a complete schedule of the five-week New York City season visit ailey.org.
A pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of Art
The show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueA pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of ArtThe show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
A dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge
204 W 134th St, New York, NY 10030
A pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of ArtThe show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueA pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of ArtThe show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueA dance and wellness classes design for Older Adults taught by Walter Rutledge
720 Nereid Ave, Bronx, NY 10466
A pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of ArtThe show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueA pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of ArtThe show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue
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A pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of ArtThe show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth AvenueA pioneer in the use of new technologies, Van Herpen transcends conventional clothing norms while embracing both traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. Ranging from the micro to the macro, the exhibition explores the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world.
Brooklyn Musiem of ArtThe show will present iconic works from the museum’s collection by more than 20 artists, including John Chamberlain, Chryssa, Jim Dine, Roy Lichtenstein, Lucas Samaras, and Andy Warhol. Highlights will include Maurizio Cattelan’s Comedian (2019) and Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s Soft Shuttlecock (1995), on view in New York for the first time in 25 years. These works will be shown alongside Yayoi Kusama’s INFINITY MIRRORED ROOM – DANCING LIGHTS THAT FLEW UP TO THE UNIVERSE (2019), a major loan to the exhibition, and recent acquisitions by contemporary artists such as Farah Al Qasimi, Alex Da Corte, Lucia Hierro, Martine Gutierrez, Lauren Halsey, Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim, Yee I-Lann, Cara Romero, and Liu Shiyuan, whose practices expand the legacies of Pop.
1071 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10128 (at 88th Street)
The new permanent installation foregrounds the creativity of artists across the subcontinent and enduring, dynamic historical traditions. The Met’s Arts of Africa galleries returned in May 2025, in a reimagined Michael C. Rockefeller Wing. Following a multiyear renovation, the reenvisioned installation reintroduces visitors to the Museum’s collection of sub-Saharan African art through a selection of some 500 works organized to survey major artistic movements and living traditions from across the subcontinent. The new galleries present original creations from the Middle Ages to the present, and one-fourth of the works are on display at the Museum for the first time.
The Met Fifth Avenue