Ailey’s “Anointed” Enthralls Through Dance and Song

(N.B. Instead of reviewing the entire Ailey performance for my third and final review, I decided to review just one of the three acts, within the scope of the entire performance. I hope this is okay.)

When this writer went to a performance by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center on December 9th, he expected a series of dance performances set to music, that would convey a physical, perhaps even visceral, emotion, as all dances do. This writer had seen excerpts from Alvin Ailey’s classic 1960 piece, Revelations, performed that night, and he realized that, while it would tell a story within the movement, it would not necessarily present a narrative through the entire performance.

That expectation of Revelations was shattered by Anointed, a new piece by Christopher L. Huggins, featuring music from Sean Clements and electronica composer Moby. Through the incredible performance of Linda Celeste Sims and Jamar Roberts, accompanied by a variety of musical styles, Anointed tells a simple story in a miraculous fashion without any words at all.

Anointed makes very good use of the very atmospheric music that exemplifies Moby’s oeuvre in the first scene, “Passing” creating a natural, almost dream-like state through the sparse scenery, props, and costume, and almost flowing music. Only Sims and Roberts appear on stage in this part, both wearing black bodysuits, accompanied by Moby’s “Grace“. The closeness in movement, the many times Sims is lifted by Roberts, shows a bond between the two leads, further exemplified by the almost heavenly sound that is “Grace.” However, the mood changes drastically in the second part, “Sally Forth,” as Sims runs away, with Roberts only to follow, into the wings. Sims returns as a quintet of female dancers, including Ghrai DeVore, Rosalyn Deshaunteurs, Demetia Hopkins, and Constance Stamatiou. The drum-based Clements composition, “Blessed Love,” accompanies the frenetic dancing and colorful costume and lighting of the scene. “Sally Forth” seems to represent the anger of Sims’s character as she and Roberts have reached a falling-out.

The calm and frenetic find some sort of happy medium in the final scene, “52 and counting,” invariably titled for the age of the Ailey company, which will change hands in leadership, from Judith Jamison to Robert Battle, after this season, The whole performance seems to be an allegory for the passing of the torch to Battle – the fact that the performance goes from male and female, to females, to male and female once more, is strikingly similar to Alvin Ailey’s partnership with Jamison, then Jamison flying solo for over two decades, and finally Jamison handing the reins to Battle. Here, Roberts and Sims return to each other amid an ensemble group of dancers as Moby’s soaring, piano- and string-driven “God Moving Over the Face of the Waters” plays. Both of them wearing white bodysuits makes the conclusion a bit contrived, but it could have been predicted in any case; regardless, this hinting may have actually served as a good additional element in bringing the story to a close.

Anointed is less about the dancing itself – though the skill of the dancers, especially Roberts, in eliciting emotion is top-notch – than the stellar mesh of the other aspects of the production with the dance. Music, costume and even lighting come together to create a tone and support a message. The sheer level of skill, not to mention the chemistry, between Roberts and Sims make a great story possible in Anointed, but the way they are presented make the story even greater.