ALVIN AILEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Last night, I went to see a show at the Alvin Ailey dance company with Ming and Jackie. I’ve seen a lot of shows there in the before, since my high school was affiliated with the company, and this show like all the others i’ve seen there it was thoroughly interesting and spectacular. It was broken up into three sections with to intermission in-between. The first piece was by far the most boring of the three, which is saying something because none of them were actually boring. More ballet centered, it still evoked the traditional Alvin Ailey “feel” if you will. It was ballet with a twist and although all the movements were classical ballet movements, there is always something behind the Alvin Ailey dancers that breathes life into each flex of a muscle. Turns, leaps, and perfect balance made the piece come alive, though I can see how someone could find it to be boring. Compared to the other two, it was a little bit so. The second piece was fascinating. They used a Janis Joplin song and one of the dancers was representative of Joplin herself. She wore an orange jumpsuit to set herself a part form everyone else, clad in tie dyed decor. Their movements not only told the story of Janis Joplin, it also made clear the causes of her ultimate demise. Drinking and heroin allusions made in the dancers movements create a real tension in the air on stage and the pain and terrible feelings associated with addiction and withdrawal are felt intensely. The final piece, is very spiritual in its purpose. Meant to sooth and calm the audience after the intense experience just witnessed, it brings forth beautiful imagery and interesting movement. No one person seems to really be doing the same thing and it is almost reminiscent of the BAM show we went to a few weeks ago. There were parts in the performance where the lighting and emotions surging on the stage made me almost go into a trance and I think that was the goal of the piece. Alvin Ailey is truly one of the best places to see a great and interesting dance performance and there shows should definitely be experienced as much as possible.