Alvin Ailey American Dance TheaterProgramme 2 – Memoria/The River/Revelations

Renowned for its soul-stirring high energy performances, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is one of America’s greatest companies. Taking popular music, gospel and jazz and mixing the classical vocabulary of ballet with a contemporary style, the Company of 30 dancers radiate a slick and sassy energy that is purely infectious.This programme combines three beloved works by Alvin Ailey himself who founded the company in 1958. The programme opens with The River, created in collaboration with the late musician and composer Duke Ellington. Combining classical ballet, modern dance and jazz, the piece uses water as a central motif in an allegory for the journey of birth, life and rebirth. Memoria is one of Ailey’s most personal works, created as a tribute to his dear friend and colleague, Joyce Trisler. The piece will feature dancers selected from all over Scotland performing alongside the company. The performance closes with Revelations, the most widely viewed modern dance work in the world. Since its debut in 1960, Revelations has moved audiences with its powerful storytelling and soul-stirring music. Springing from Ailey’s childhood memories of growing up in the American South, attending Baptist church services in Texas, Revelations pays homage to rich African American cultural traditions.Part of Edinburgh International Festival