Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is an African American modern dance company that is one of New York City’s Big Three dance companies. The “American Cultural Ambassador to the World” (U.S. Congress) popularized modern dance around the world ~ really. It is in residence at New York City Center, but also dances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), and Lincoln Center. Ailey II, its second company, dances as well as many first companies, and is an incubator for talent across the performing arts.
Ailey Studios is one of New York’s leading dance schools. You can study many forms of dance at social, amateur, and professional levels. Ailey Citigroup Theater is the dance theater at Ailey Studios. Fordham University in The Bronx has an Alvin Ailey BFA Program that produces great dancers.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presents a December Holiday Season in residence at New York City Center, and a Summer season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) or David H. Koch Theater in Lincoln Center. They also perform in the BAAND Together dance festival of New York City’s leading dance companies at Lincoln Center in July.
DECEMBER
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrates “Legacy in Motion” and Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison (1943-2024) with world premieres of “Sacred Songs” by Matthew Rushing, “Finding Free” by Hope Boykin, “Many Angels” by Lar Lubovitch, and “Al-Andalus Blues” by Jamar Roberts; a 25th Anniversary staging of Ronald K. Brown’s “Grace;” a new production of Elisa Monte’s “Treading;” and beloved Ailey classics including his masterpiece “Revelations.” It’s at New York City Center in Midtown, Manhattan; from December 4, 2024 to January 5, 2025. From $42. 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇫🇷 🇬🇫
- Matthew Rushing @matthewrushing73
- Hope Boykin @hbdance
- Lar Lubovitch @lubovitch
- Jamar L. Crognale-Roberts @7jlr27
- Ronald K. Brown @evidencedance
- Elisa Monte @elisamonte19
The Opening Night Gala honors dance educator Jody Gottfried Arnhold, and celebrates the life and legacy of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison (1943-2024), with a performance at New York City Center featuring Grammy-winning vocalists Leslie Odom, Jr, and Cécile Mclorin Salvant, followed by a party at Ziegfeld Ballroom. Honorary Chairs are TV host Gayle King (CBS Mornings & Oprah Daily), and Phylicia Rashad, the Tony Award-winning actress.
- Jody Gottfried Arnhold @jodyarnhold
- Leslie Odom Jr. @leslieodomjr
- Cécile Mclorin Salvant @cecilemclorinsalvant
SEPTEMBER
Art of an African American Modern Dancer
“Edges of Ailey,” the first large-scale museum exhibition about the life, work, and legacy of Alvin Ailey, founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; is at the Whitney Museum of American Art in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District; from September 25, 2024 through February 2025. whitney.org 🇺🇸
JULY
BAAND Together Dance Festival 2024 brings five of New York City’s leading dance companies: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispánico, Dance Theatre of Harlem and New York City Ballet; to dance ballet, modern, and contemporary; at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center; from Tuesday-Saturday, July 30 – August 3, 2024. Tickets on sale May 16, 2024 $35 or choose-what-you-pay as low as $5. It sells out immediately. 🇺🇸 🇨🇺 🇫🇷 🇲🇽 🇵🇷
JUNE
African American Modern Dance
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs African American modern dance; in the Howard Gilman Opera House at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in Fort Greene, Brooklyn; from Tuesday-Sunday, June 4-9, 2024. From $35. bam.org 🇺🇸
MAY
African American Modern Dance
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presents three programs of modern and contemporary dance; in Prudential Hall at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark, New Jersey; from Friday-Sunday, May 10-12, 2024. From $25. njpac.org 🇺🇸
APRIL
Ailey II celebrates the Company’s 50th Anniversary of African American modern dance; at the Joyce Theater in Chelsea, Manhattan; from Tuesday-Sunday, April 9-14, 2024. Curtain chat, Wednesday, April 10. joyce.org 🇺🇸
New York City Venues
- 92nd Street Y, New York
- Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)
- David H. Koch Theater
- Joyce Theater
- Lincoln Center
- New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC)
- New York City Center
- Whitney Museum of American Art
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Ballet is considered the pinnacle of dance, but Ailey is the equal of any ballet company in the world. In addition to masterful choreography, perfect technique, and beautifully athletic dancers, Alvin Ailey performances have a spiritual dimension derived from the experience of being African American. It is also a home for great Afro-Latin dancers. In African Diaspora tradition, dance is how we pray, and every Ailey performance is a revelation. 🇺🇸
Alvin Ailey Jr. was born in Rogers, Texas in 1931. 1930s Texas was another world. Ailey often choreographed from his childhood memories. He founded the Company in 1958. It first performed at the 92nd Street Y which was a modern dance incubator and still is. As an American ambassador for the U.S. State Department, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater popularized modern dance around the world.
There is something deeply spiritual about Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater that we haven’t seen in any other dance company. Ailey’s “Revelations” (1960) is the Company’s signature masterpiece. It’s a reflection of Ailey’s childhood memories of attending Mount Olive Baptist Church near Fort Worth, Texas. The piece eloquently expresses that life is a mix of joy and pain, but always tempered with HOPE.
Some Ailey dancers became dance stars of their generation and mentors of the next in the African American tradition of “Each one, teach one.”
Latin Dancers in the 2024-25 Season
- Leonardo Britto is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil @leonardobrittom 🇧🇷
- Yannick Lebrun is from Cayenne, French Guiana @yannicklebrun 🇬🇫 🇫🇷
- Dandara Veiga is from Alegrete, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil @iamdandaraveiga 🇧🇷
Social Media
Instagram @alvinailey
Facebook @AileyOrganization
TikTok @ailey
YouTube @AlvinAileyAmericanDanceTheater
Tickets
Ailey Studios
405 West 55th St
(at Ninth Ave)
Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan