A revelation from a living dance museum.

Ballett / Dance

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

«Night Creature» (1974, choreography: Alvin Ailey)

«In/Side» (2008, choreography: Robert Battle)

«Love Stories» (2004, choreography: Judith Jamison w/Robert Battle & Rennie Harris)

«Revelations» (1960, choreography: Alvin Ailey)

Norwegian premiere: Den norske opera & ballet, Oslo

Tuesday 21. June 2011

OSLO: Seeing historical and nearly brand new ballets by the classic company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is both a revelation of great proportions and sort of a turn-of. But still it is an experience of huge greatness.

There’s no doubt about it: The peak of the performance comes at the end with «Revelations», Alvin Ailey’s classic ballet from 1960. It was made two years after he started his company in 1958, and it is the same thing here as we saw in the Norwegian National Ballet’s own production of Jiri Kylian’s «Wild Flowers» earlier this year – it is the oldest work that stands out as the most vital, interesting and capturing experience during a programme of different choreographies of mixed duration and quality.

With Kylian it was his more than 30 years old «Symphony of Psalms» that revealed the starting point of his choreographic career, a production that has stood the test of time and is the base all the other pieces build upon.

With Ailey’s «Revelations» we meet a dance piece that is full of joy for life, wondering about life’s mysteries, and with beautiful and capturing combinations of solos, duos and the whole ensemble rocking the stage. It starts with the emblematic image of a thight group of people standing with their hands and fingers stretched towards a great, yellow sun. From this point on there is no hesitation. It tells about the miserable history of black people in America, based as it is on Ailey’s own childhood history from Texas, but also of hope and faith and – not the least – how to overcome obstacles. It ends with a joyous ensemble where men and women take their turns in a line-dance celebrating life.

Before this the audience was warmed up by a film telling the story of this 51 year old ballet. Earlier in the programme the company had presented a mix of different styles, ranging from jazz to hip-hop, all built on a classical base. That was especially evident in the first piece, «Night Creature». The elegant split jumps are as classical in their style as imaginable. But still the ballet has some special features, like some massive hip twists and obvious jazz steps. But it was evident that the choreography is from 1974, and it carries its age with some burden.

«In / Side» is a solo choreographed by the company’s brand new artistic director, Robert Battle. It is danced by Samuel Lee Roberts with incredible strength, but at several points the choreography does not match the intensity of the accompanying music sung by Nina Simone.

«Love stories» is the last ballet before «Revelations», and it builds up the mood with inspiration from modern street-dance and hip-hop. But this is hip-hop with a safety net, and even though the choreography is catching and rhythmical it does not come close to what you can see in the streets. But when that is said, the choreography by the former artistic director Judith Jamison (who took over the company when Ailey died in 1989) is a nice mixture of different styles. It is also the only of the four choreographies that uses some kind of scenography apart from light. «Love stories» starts with the stage filled with smoke creating a room with light beaming through the smoke. But as the smoke disappears we are left with the same coloured lighting as in the rest of the ballets.

All in all the Oslo-performance of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is a joyous experience that combines the elegance of classical ballet with modern, jazz and other popular dance styles well worth seeing.

The same programme is performed tonight, and a new programme (including «Revelations») is performed on Friday and Saturday.