The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returned to the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Thursday with a program that balanced history, innovation and spiritual reflection.
The company’s opening performance featured a stunning trio of works: Medhi Walerski’s contemporary Blink of an Eye, Judith Jamison’s deeply personal Hymn, and Alvin Ailey’s iconic masterpiece, Revelations.
By blending technical precision with a profound sense of cultural inheritance, the evening served as a powerful reminder of why this company remains one of America’s most vital artistic institutions.
A Study in Precision
The evening's most technical piece was Blink of an Eye, a 2012 contemporary work by French choreographer Medhi Walerski. Set against a stripped-down stage and accompanied by the expressive, driving violin compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach, the ballet relied on pure movement rather than theatrical spectacle. Minimal scenery allowed the lighting, sharp costuming, and the dancers’ bodies to become the primary storytelling tools.
The choreography felt deeply rooted in classical ballet traditions, demanding clean lines, soaring extensions, and explosive, technically-rigorous jumps. At times, the ensemble moved in striking synchronicity, When individual performers stepped into featured roles, their movements remained deliberate and controlled, showcasing the world-class technical prowess that has become a hallmark of the modern Ailey company.
The Living History of Revelations
There is a distinct magic in watching Alvin Ailey’s 1960 signature masterpiece, Revelations. For first-time viewers, the piece can feel like stepping directly into a living history of Black America. For returning audiences, it is a spiritual homecoming.
As traditional spirituals and gospel music filled the theater, the stage transformed into a space reminiscent of a Sunday church service. The earthy costumes evoked the clothing of enslaved Africans and sharecroppers, while the movement vocabulary brilliantly reflected the enduring, historical connection between faith, struggle, and hope in the American South.
Throughout the work, themes of perseverance emerged repeatedly. Ailey’s famous, uplifted arms appeared not just as gestures of religious praise, but as symbols of resistance and liberation. The piece explores Christianity through the lens of the African American experience, illustrating how faith became both a psychological refuge and a source of radical strength amid the brutality of slavery and segregation.
While popular historic depictions of slavery often focus solely on violence and oppression, Revelations presents a far more complex and accurate portrait of Black life. There is deep sorrow, but the there is also love, celebration, community, and unyielding joy. The dancers conveyed a fierce determination to live, despite systems historically designed to suppress mind, body, and spirit.
By the time the ballet reached its final section, transforming the stage into a jubilant, sun-drenched church gathering complete with yellow fans and flowing white dresses, the sequence felt rooted in the traditions of a local Black church and universally connected to the broader African diasporic cultures.
Elite Athletes on Grand Stages
Yet the emotional centerpiece of the evening was undeniably the return of Judith Jamison’s Hymn, performed at BAM for the first time in more than 15 years, which opened the night.
The physical demands placed upon the dancers are impossible to ignore. The work is muscular, explosive, and intensely athletic. Lifts, leaps, and moments of sustained physical suspension continually blur the line between fine art and elite sport. Watching these dancers reveals this truth: modern ballet dancers are elite athletes operating at the absolute peak of human capability.
The return of Hymn arrives with added emotional weight following the passing of Jamison in 2024. In the days leading up to the BAM engagement, former company members who helped originate the ballet in the 1990s returned to the studio to assist in its restaging.
Among them was Elizabeth Rojas Dobris, who danced with the company for 13 years and was a member of the original 1993 cast. For Dobris, seeing the ballet revived for a new generation brings back a flood of memories about how the piece was uniquely constructed.
When Jamison created the piece in 1993, she worked with the famous playwright and artist Anna Deavere Smith, Dobris said.
"Originally, what Anna did was interview each and every one of the dancers at that time. We all had the same interview questions. From there, Anna and Judy collaborated to create a whole libretto," she said, resulting in an intimate collective portrait.
"Originally, Ms. Jamison was actually part of the piece," said Dobris. "She was in it along with Ms. Anna Deavere Smith, as she invoked each and every one of our individual selves on stage. There was Matthew Rushing, Troy Powell, Renee Robinson, Dudley Williams, Michael Thomas, Karine Plantadit, and my own words were in there, too."
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is at BAM from June 4 - 7. Click here for tickets.
