Opening night of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was an auspicious beginning to what promises to be an electrifying winter season at New York City Center (Nov. 30-Dec. 24). Ushered in with a dash of glitz and glamor, the season got off to a dazzling start with a smattering of speeches in a theater filled with well-heeled supporters and bold-faced names, rubbing elbows with us ordinary folks. And capping off the formalities was the down-home warmth of guest host TV celeb Tamron Hall, who introduced the Texas teacher who introduced her to the AAADT years ago. And, of course, there was AAADT Artistic Director Robert Battle, whose speeches always seem like intimate tete-a-tetes. But, of course, the main attraction was the dancers themselves, who delivered electrifying performances that warmed the heart, energized the spirit, soothed the soul, put a smile on your face and a spring in your step.
And, that was just the beginning of four weeks that featured a world premiere by Kyle Abraham, the company premiere of Twyla Tharp’s “Roy’s Joys,” and a new production of Alvin Ailey’s “Survivors.” Programs also feature the Company’s City Center premieres of Paul Taylor’s “DUET,” Jamar Roberts’ “In a Sentimental Mood” and Ailey & Jazz programs performed with live music. The season showcases over half a dozen classic works by founder Alvin Ailey, including the always inspiring masterpiece, “Revelations.”
This season’s programs consist of a remarkable mix of works that amaze with their technical prowess, seduce with their infectious musicality, excite with their technical brilliance, and inspire us with their heartwarming bursts of beauty and joy. Battle says, “The repertory I have chosen for this season puts audiences back in touch with some of the richest, deepest works Alvin Ailey ever choreographed, shows off the brilliance of our dancers in pieces by great contemporaries of Mr. Ailey—Twyla Tharp and Paul Taylor—and introduces everyone to amazing new works by Kyle Abraham and Jamar Roberts that find reservoirs of love and resilience in our complicated lives and times. This is going to be a season overflowing with the joy of connections—eclectic, surprising, moving connections—between eras, between dancemakers, and between people.”
One of the insightful pieces on this season’s program is a new production of Alvin Ailey’s impassioned tribute to the profound courage and terrible anguish of the late South African President, freedom fighter Nelson Mandela and his then-wife, Winnie Mandela, “Survivors” (1986), which has not been seen since 1988. A soundtrack of Max Roach’s richly masterful drumming and Abbey Lincoln’s commanding vocals sets the emotional tone for a work that presents a portrait of people transformed by injustice and lifts up those who resist racism and oppression in any form.
Proof that Ailey’s genius is timeless, this work speaks also to the times we’re living. The Amsterdam News was anxious to talk to the man responsible for restaging this work, Masazumi Chaya, whose sensitivity and insights comes not only from an amazing memory but from having worked closely with Alvin Ailey and being part of the AAADT family. Chaya danced with AAADT for 15 years, and worked closely with Ailey as acting rehearsal director and rehearsal director. Then, when Ailey transitioned, and the brilliantly charismatic star of the company, Judith Jamison, became artistic director, Chaya became associate artistic director (1991-2019). Now, he has been charged with the task of restaging this work Ailey co-choreographed with his trusted colleague Mary Barnett. The Ailey program notation describes “Survivors” as “a tribute to the profound courage and terrible anguish” the Mandelas experienced as anti-Apartheid freedom fighters, him as a political prisoner for 27 years, and her as the wife who knew that freedom is not free.
Ailey told a reporter back in 1987, “It’s real jail bars, not circles of light that are supposed to imprison. Part of the memory, the experience, is in its physical headiness, its heat, its texture, its agony, its abstraction, its sound…This piece is a kind of compendium and abstraction of my rage, an abstraction of that frustration, that anger, that pain. It’s about the passing of strength from person to person, the passing on of images and ideas. I was trying to go into the interior of the situation, to the feelings, to say something beyond what we already know about what’s going on there.” That message was one that rankled some feathers as the company received threats.
“It was scary,” Chaya said. Still the company decided the program had to go on. “Alvin wanted to do this ballet because of those prejudices,” Chaya said. Now Chaya has worked to recapture that essence of Alvin’s choreography and recalls the journey. “We performed the piece all around the world, even in South Africa, twice, once while Mr. Mandela was still in prison and then once when he was president of South Africa,” he says as he digs into his rich treasure trove of memories of Ailey. Recalling how the dance came together, Chaya talks about Ailey’s voracious reading appetite which included stacks of newspapers in every town the company visited, and, of course, the Nelson Mandela biography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” which Ailey gave him to read. Then there was the music—a piece by jazz-great drummer Max Roach and his wife, singer/actress and outspoken activist Aminata Moseka (Abbey Lincoln). Interestingly, the choice of music mirrored both couples’ dynamic. Chaya says, “The music of Max Roach was calm and complex. Abbey Lincoln’s voice was powerful and insistent. Alvin made the orchestra pit a little bit higher so we could see Max and Max could see the dancers. That was an amazing experience for me.”
Recalling rehearsals with the two dancers Ailey set the work on—the masterfully musical Dudley Williams and technically impressive Lena Horne look-alike Sherrell Mesh—Chaya recalls Ailey chose each because of their unique movement qualities. There was Dudley’s gentle yet powerful lyricism and Sherrell’s powerful charisma, all a factor in this restaging. And, to make sure the restaging was accurate, Chaya, whose memory of movement is legendary, poured over four video tapes to make sure he was true to Ailey’s intention. To that end, Chaya explored both the physical terrain and emotional terrain.
“I went to South Africa twice, after, of course, the sanctions were lifted. I’ve been to Robben Island. They showed the room where Mr. Mandela was imprisoned.” The impact was profound, Chaya said, to see the room where Mandela read, and studied law. “His fight was internal, grappling with the essence of human rights and what it would take to make South Africa change…Then I saw outdoors where they were allowed to walk. It was a small space enclosed by a huge wall so the only thing you could see was sky.” In many ways, one couldn’t help but be in awe of Mandela’s quiet strength. In fact, Chaya says, that made him think of Alvin’s quiet power. “I enjoyed being around him. He was so sensitive but, my God, the knowledge. When he passed away, on December 1, 1989, I was holding his hand…Now, teaching ‘Survivors’ I love to teach the dancers not only the steps but about Alvin to give them a little bit of a sense of the creative genius…I really feel like it’s something I have to let them know.”
Now, when audiences view “Survivors,” they will not only see a work about the Mandelas but with Masazumi Chaya’s help they will learn even more about Alvin Ailey’s creative genius.