Performances Start February 17
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the country’s longest-running touring companies, returns to Florida after their well-received turn at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami last year. They will arrive in Florida to perform one show only at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota on Tuesday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m. Afterwards, they will start a four-day engagement at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, starting on Thursday, February 19 and going on through Sunday, February 22.
The late Alvin Ailey founded the American Dance Theater in 1958 to showcase African-American talent in dance and to bring the American dance tradition into the modern age. The traveling troupe still performs many numbers popularized by Ailey, even a quarter-century after his death.
The company enters its fifth year under artistic director Robert Battle, a South Florida native who grew up in Liberty City, Miami, and trained at Miami’s New World School of the Arts. Also part of the company is fellow Miami native Jamar Roberts, who joined Alvin Ailey back in 2002 and also trained at the New World School of the Arts. Also in the company are Antonio and Kirven Douthit-Boyd, the first married same-sex couple in Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater history.
Crowds in both Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale should expect to see the crowd favorite number “Revelations,” choreographed by Alvin Ailey himself and a staple of each yearly tour. New numbers to look forward to for 2015 include “Awassa Astrige,” with choreography by Asadata Dafora; “Suspended Women,” with choreography by Jacqulyn Buglisi; and “Polish Pieces,” with choreography by Hans van Manen. The latter piece will kick off the Broward Center’s premiere engagement on Thursday, February 19.
Tickets are available for all performance dates and can be bought online; prices start at $39 in Sarasota and $35 in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets are also available from the box offices at Van Wezel and the Broward Center up to the days of each performance. Visit vanwezel.org and browardcenter.org to purchase your tickets online.
For more information about Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, visit alvinailey.org.
