Posted 12:05 am Saturday, February 11, 2012
Gracefulness Embody The Performances By Ailey II Dancers
By STEWART SMITH
Entertainment Editor
As one half of a dance company created by the late choreographer and modern dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, Ailey II continues the traditions and philosophies formed by its namesake. Ailey II will arrive in Tyler on Tuesday for a special performance.
Entertainment Editor
As one half of a dance company created by the late choreographer and modern dance pioneer Alvin Ailey, Ailey II continues the traditions and philosophies formed by its namesake. Ailey II will arrive in Tyler on Tuesday for a special performance.
Ailey died in 1989, but after speaking to Collin Heyward, one of the Ailey II members, it is clear that the spirit of the man's instruction and his vision are still very much alive and well.
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"I feel like in these particular two companies, you'll see a lot of passion in what we do on-stage. He wants us to convey the passion for what we're doing. You'll see that a lot," Heyward said. "The pieces we perform, they're passion-driven with a lot of very energetic, powerful movements and I think that's what Mr. Ailey envisioned dance to be."
And what Ailey envisioned is a company that made dance accessible and open to audiences regardless of their background and interests.
"He wanted dance to come from a human experience, a humane place. And he wanted to reach out to everybody," Heyward said. "He wanted dance to be made accessible to all cultures, all backgrounds, all ethnicities. He wanted to give back to the people because that's where dance came from. It's our job to give it back to the people."
One of Ailey's signature pieces (one that is often described as his masterpiece), "Revelations," will be performed by Ailey II in Tyler. "Revelations," while not specifically a narrative, is based on what Heyward described as Ailey's "blood memories" and experiences from growing up in Texas in the '30s and '40s and infused with the spirit of blues, spirituals and gospel music.
"It's based on what he saw in the church and the struggles that minorities went through back then. It takes you on a journey from being rebuked and scorned and having a lot of burdens on your shoulders and it becomes uplifting. It's a celebration at the end," Heyward said.
Another piece of note will be the performance of "Shards," a reflective bit of avant garde choreography that gives physical form to a man's thoughts and emotions.
"It's focused around this one man and the other dancers are the different sides of his personality, his past life, his ex-lovers, it's a very dramatic piece," Heyward said. "It's up for your own interpretation, I feel, but it's called 'Shards' so everybody represents a different piece of this one man."
The choreographer described it as happening inside the lead's mind. There are a lot of duets and group sets and partnering, it represents his reflection on his relationships with other people."
Other pieces to be performed will include "Splendid Isolation II," "The Hunt" and "The Calling."
Ailey II will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at The University of Texas at Tyler Cowan Center. Tickets are $57, $52, $47, $42, $37 and $27 and can be purchased online at www.cowancenter.org, by phone at 903-566-7424 or at the box office. Box office hours are weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
