Revelations (Alvin Ailey)

Revelations "Take me to the Water" performed by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in 2011

Revelations is the best-known[1] work of the modern dance choreographer Alvin Ailey. It is also the signature work of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which premiered an extended version of the work (lasting over an hour)[2] in 1960, when Ailey was 29 years old. Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer's own Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historical African American experience from a church-inspired perspective. The three sections of the final 36-minute revised version depict the suffering of slavery ("Pilgrim of Sorrow"), baptismal joy ("Take me to the Water"), and a choral church celebration ("Move, Members, Move").

While drawing on the modern-dance techniques of Lester Horton, who had been Ailey's mentor, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the dancing is also influenced by the movement studies of Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus.[3]

Revelations has been presented at the White House on many occasions, including the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and it also formed part of the Opening Ceremonies for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.[4]

  1. ^ Au, Susan (2001). "Alvin Ailey". Grove Music Online (8th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-1-56159-263-0. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DeFrantz2006 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Foulkes, Julia L (2003). Modern Bodies: Dance and American Modernism from Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey. University of North Carolina Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-8078-6202-5.
  4. ^ "Revelations". pressroom.alvinailey.org. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019.