Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre for Valentines Day weekend
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, February 12-16, for its 66th season. This year’s performances are dedicated to the memory of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison (1943-2024).
The 2025 United States Tour will hit 18 cities with Cleveland, OH, Washington D.C., Atlanta, GA, Greenville, SC, Charlotte, NC, Charleston, SC, and Philadelphia, PA performances taking place during Black History Month.
“We bring our best to Atlanta. We are bringing all the new works we did for the season,” said Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing. “There’s no place on our tour like Atlanta. Atlanta comes and shows up with a magnitude of support that we rarely see anywhere in the world. I love the fact that Atlanta is at the beginning of the tour as well because it’s one of those moments where you get this injection of love and support, and you’re affirmed.”
Rushing has been part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for over 30 years, serving as a dancer, choreographer, rehearsal director, and associate artistic director during his time with the company.
He assumed the role of interim artistic director after Robert Battle resigned due to health concerns. Alicia Graf Mack will take the reins as the company’s new artistic director in July 2025.
Rushing’s newest work, “Sacred Songs,” premieres this season, marking his fifth ballet choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. His previous creations for the company include “Acceptance In Surrender” (2005), “Uptown” (2009), “ODETTA” (2014), and “Testament” (2020).
Rushing drew inspiration for his new ballet from “Revelations,” Alvin Ailey’s 1960 masterpiece and the signature ballet of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
“I came across information that in the original version of ‘Revelations’ in 1960 it was over an hour long. When Mr. Ailey decided to travel and take it on tour, he condensed it and took out half the songs so he could tour with a shorter ballet. I ran across those songs that he took out and decided to create a piece to honor ‘Revelations.’ That’s how I came up with sacred songs,” Rushing said.
“Sacred Songs” debuts alongside Jamar Roberts’ “Al-Andalus Blues,” Hope Boykin’s “Finding Free,” and Lar Lubovitch’s “Many Angels.” Roberts and Boykin are both former members of the company.
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of Ronald K. Brown’s “Grace” and features a new production of Elisa Monte’s “Treading.”
A special performance honoring Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison will be presented by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on Thursday, February 13, during their Atlanta tour stop.
Judith Jamison led the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 21 years, succeeding Alvin Ailey as artistic director in 1989 at his request. She retired in 2011, passing the leadership to Robert Battle. Jamison passed away in November 2024 at the age of 81.
Earlier this year, the company teamed up with the National Black Arts Festival (NBAF) in January for the AileyDance for Active Aging Workshop, a workshop for Atlanta’s senior citizens that focused on dance technique, strength and flexibility training, and movement.
The workshop was led by Master Teacher and former Ailey star Nasha Thomas, along with Theara Ward and Jerijah West.
“We don’t want to just come into a place perform and leave. We want the impact of the performance but we also understand that we also want to impact the local communities. That looks like the masterclass and the workshops,” Rushing said.
This month, Ailey Extension and AREA Atlanta presented Ailey Experience Atlanta (Feb. 8-9), a workshop for young dancers of all levels. The workshop, held at Kay Pace Elementary and MD Roberts Middle School of the Performing Arts, was led by Ailey Extension Director Lisa Johnson-Willingham, Katherine Jiménez, and Judith McCarty.
Student dancers explored Horton, Latin Fusion, and Afro-Dance techniques.
Tickets are still available for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Atlanta performances. The company will present a college night on Wednesday, February 12, and a Valentine’s Day program on Friday, February 14.
For more information about the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater visit https://ailey.org/,and to purchase tickets to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at the Fox Theatre Feb. 12-16, go to https://www.foxtheatre.org/.
