It’s hard not to rave about the Alvin Ailey dancers, and not just because they are more than gorgeous. They also have a seriousness and commitment that disguise a repertory looking increasingly creaky.
When Ailey created his signature works in the Sixties and Seventies, he captured the African-American experience with precision and ease. His rightly renowned Revelations conveys the hopes and disappointments, the music and styles, the bayou and streetwalk of America mid-century, and the current-day dancers communicate both his message and means. However, it triggered little new choreography that catches today’s scene, which strands Ailey’s achievement rather than inspiring a younger generation of dance makers.
I say "little" because the company’s incoming director Robert Battle has created two new works, both small-scale, that point a way forward. The solo In/Side for Samuel Lee Roberts looks like a prisoner fighting demons, while The Hunt, for six men, suggests urban combat. Whether Battle can grow these intriguing miniatures into work for what is a big-ish troupe, and for both men and women, is yet to be seen, but it’s a welcome start.
Prog 1 and 2 in rep until September 25, 0844 412 4300, sadlerswells.com
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Programme One (Suite Otis/The Hunt/Dancing Spirit/In/Side/Revelations)
Sadler's Wells
Rosebery Avenue, EC1R 4TN
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