On their toes - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 35th anniversary celebrations

American Visions, Oct-Nov, 1993 by Anthony C. Murphy

The festivities began several months ago for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and they weren't limited to dance performances or to the company's New York base. Ranging from the memorabilia exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution's Anacostia Museum in Washington, D.C., which ended in June, to the Philip Morris-sponsored "Ailey in Central Park" performance in August, the company has been celebrating 35 years of changing the perception of American dance.

Since its first performance in New York in 1958, Alvin Ailey's and after his death in 1989, the company's) vision of preserving and enriching the American modern dance heritage as well as the uniqueness of African-American cultural expression has been a priority. Never exclusively a repository for Ailey's own work, the company continues to present important works of the past as well as new commissions, including works by Garth Fagan and by the company's artistic director, Judith Jamison.

The celebration concludes with a gala at the City Center in New York City, December 8 to January 2, and features Fagan's Juke Box for Alvin and Jamison's Fires in the Mirror with text by actress Anna Deavere Smith. There is also a company premiere of Jerome Robbins' "N.Y. Export: Op. Jazz" and a revival of Ailey's "The Mooche."