Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre’s “Revelations”

I Wanna Be Ready Choreography

PERFORMANCE

Modern ballet movement includes both classical ballet elements and contemporary aspects of dance which performers definitely showcased in Revelations. A noticeable aspect of the performance that was clearly directed was the facial expressions and stable control of their breath which the dancers had throughout the show. In many of the dances, for example, the first introduction dance, the classical ballet technique of keeping a blank expression and breathing through the nose as to be unnoticed was incorporated by every dancer on stage. This suggests that the dancers were all directed to follow this technique. The performance’s encore dance, however, contains dancers with varying facial expressions and even moments where they appear to speak to one another. These moments were most likely not intensely controlled and gave some leeway for dancers to individually perform as they chose. The distinction between the direction of performance and the choices made by dancers in this show is very interesting because although most ballet choreographers are intent on each movement in their dances, Alvin Ailey created this work as a tribute to the soulful spirit in black culture which leads one to believe that the dancers would be allowed to “feel the music” at times. I think that it is the incredible balance of the classical ballet control and these moments of “soul” which make this work so iconic. The dance Sinner Man is a good example of how the performers were held to their standard of being able to maintain their intense control while still staying true to the individuality glorified by gospel music. A really impactful moment of theatre from this dance is when 3 dancers form a line and hold the same pose before flinging themselves on the floor sequentially. There is so much control in their movement to remain totally in sync and yet intense emotion is displayed in each of their faces. 

TENSION

While Revelations was created by Alvin Ailey, the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre, Robert Battle, had artistic control of the dance’s 2015 performance. With comparisons from past performances, however, I have come to the conclusion that the company does not intend on breaking away from the original directorial choices made for the performances directed by Ailey. Lighting, props, and spaces have remained the same and I assume that this is because the choices regarding these aspects of the dance made by Ailey were very intentional and to change them would take away from his choreography and intentions. There was a moment of very intense and literal tension during the dance I Wanna Be Ready where a single dancer performed alone on the floor for a good portion of the dance. He was directly under a spotlight with the rest of the stage blacked out to intensify the audience’s focus on him while he performed. Contrasting to the other dances in the performance, there were no colored lights so the stage seemed to be completely unsaturated. Not only did the empty and dark atmosphere create tension, but the very literal tension in the dancer’s body displayed in his strained muscle movements implied that this tension was also existing in the performer himself. The floorwork done during this dance is fundamental to modern ballet performances and also added to the work because it gave the sense of the man being beaten down by the world around him. Music in this moment of theatre is a very soulful and solemn gospel song sung by a choir which intensifies the sense of aloneness of the dancer on stage. I think that this choice was made with the intention of depicting the years of struggle which the African-American community has endured and how each person of color in America has this scar within them.

Wade in the Water Choreography

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Revelations first debuted in 1960 as a tribute to African-American culture through its appreciation of spiritual work, song-sermons, gospel songs, and holy blues. The performance has been performed since then as modern dance and ballet all over the world and has become a “cultural treasure”. Choreographer and Theatre Company creator, Alvin Ailey, describes his intentions for creating the work as a way to depict African-American culture’s hopeful and joyful community through their many struggles. With the use of classic blues, and gospel as music, Ailey successfully intertwines his ballet choreography with the story of the black struggle in America. Revelations are known as one of the world’s most famous works of modern ballet. Modern ballet is a combination of classical ballet techniques and modern dance aspects which began being developed in the 20th century. A signature aspect included in modern ballets is floorwork which is used in Revelations in dances like “I Wanna Be Ready” and “Wade in the Water” where performers dance remaining on the floor.

PERSONAL CONTEXT

 I noticed a clear directorial choice regarding tension which was reflected by the really large stage used in the performance. In the dance Fix Me Jesus, a man and a woman dance together and portray a vulnerable and dependant nature in their relationship. The contrast in how I felt as an audience member when they were close together versus when they separated across the stage really surprised me. By using a very large space to perform on, their vulnerability when alone was greatly enhanced, and I think this directorial choice was very effective. I had never really been exposed to great use of space like this before watching this performance and I know that it will impact my future projects greatly. For example, I was planning on depicting the friendship of 3 men in my director’s notebook as very claustrophobic and dependent on each other. I now have various ideas regarding the spacing of scenes which are inspired by how impactful the use of space in this show was.

THEATRICAL COMPARISON

I have not been very exposed to many modern dance performances and nothing I had seen really seemed to parallel well with this performance because it contained movements that are not used in classical ballets that I have watched before. I think it is really incredible how this show is put into the same category as works like The Nutcracker or Swan Lake and I am excited to see how diverse ballet can really be. I did, however, continue to think of the Gecko performance, The Time of Your Life when coming up with theatrical comparisons. Both shows did not rely on dialogue to move their storyline along and although Revelations did not have such a linear plot as The Time of Your Life, they both had the use of movement as a storytelling device in common. Gecko performances are based a lot around movement which is similar to how dance performances are created. Moments of theatre that were very parallel to me were from the start of The Time of Your Life where a group of people at a party came together and then left the stage suddenly to leave the main character alone and from the dance Wade in the Water where a group danced together until leaving single dancers on stage. Both of these moments