Make Your Move, As Ailey Moves NYC! Concludes At Marcus Garvey Park In Harlem!

Embracing people throughout its hometown, the Ailey organization presents Ailey Moves NYC!, a summer celebration with free events from Harlem to Hollis, July 23 – August 1, 2022.

Offerings include performances, dance classes, Revelations workshops, and screenings of Jamila Wignot’s acclaimed 2021 documentary Ailey.

Ailey Moves NYC! kicks off on Saturday, July 23, in partnership with Capital One City Parks Foundation SummerStage with a West African dance family workshop, followed by a free Ailey performance at the Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk.

Other venues throughout the ten-day festival include Gil Heron Amphitheater in the Bronx; Far Rockaway Beach in Queens; Snug Harbor Cultural Center in Staten Island; and Times Square, Bryant Park, and Little Island (Pier 55) in Manhattan.

Ailey Moves NYC! concludes in Harlem at Marcus Garvey Park on Monday, August 1 at 8pm, with a screening of Jamila Wignot’s powerful documentary Ailey. Screenings of the filmduring Ailey Moves NYC! are presented in collaboration with Rooftop Films.

Programming highlights include:

• Ailey Arts In Education West African Dance Family Workshop with live drumming—Coney Island Boardwalk, Saturday, July 23, 3:00 PM
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Performance featuring Mr. Ailey’s American masterpiece Revelations and hip-hop innovator Rennie Harris’s acclaimed Lazarus—Coney Island Amphitheater SummerStage, Saturday, July 23, 7:00 PM
• Ailey Arts In Education Active Aging Workshop with former Ailey company member Amos Machanic and Rachel Watson-Jih—Hansborough Recreation Center, Monday, July 25, 11:00 AM
• Ailey Extension NY Style Mambo class with Katherine Jimenez—Times Square Alliance, Tuesday, July 26, 2:00 PM 
•  Ailey Extension Broadway Jazz class with Judine Somerville—Times Square Alliance, Wednesday, July 27, 2:00 PM
• Ailey II Performance with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater soloist—Bryant Park Picnic Performances, Thursday, July 28, 7:00 PM
• Ailey Arts In Education Revelations Workshop led by former Ailey company members Renée Robinson and Amos Machanic, as well as West African Workshop with Fatima Logan-Alston—Little Island, Friday July 29, 3:00 PM

· Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, America’s Cultural Ambassador to the World, grew from a now fabled performance in 1958 at the 92^nd St Y in New York City by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African American modern dancers that forever changed the perception of American dance. Today, under the leadership of artistic director, Robert Battle, the Company continues Mr. Ailey’s mission by presenting important works of the past and commissioning new ones. In all, more than 235 works by over 90 choreographers have been part of the Company’s repertory.

· The Ailey company has gone to perform an estimated 25 million people in 48 states and in 71 countries on 6 continents—as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings (Ailey documentary available on Hulu and PBS Passport), and online platforms (Ailey All Access and more), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to inspire and unite people of all backgrounds around the globe.  Before his untimely death in 1989, Alvin Ailey named Judith Jamison as his successor, and over the next 21 years, she brought the Company to unprecedented success. Ms. Jamison, in turn, personally selected Robert Battle to succeed her in 2011, and The New York Times declared he “has injected the company with new life.”

· Ailey II (1974) is the second company of emerging young dancers, universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. Under the vision of Artistic Director Francesca Harper, Ailey II will continue to expand the bridge from the classroom to the stage that Alvin Ailey created to constantly propel each new generation of artists forward.

· Ailey Arts In Education & CommunityPrograms (1992) brings dance into the classrooms, communities, and lives of 100,000 young people each year, helping them reach their full potential through virtual, or in-person residencies and programs like AileyCamp, a unique summer day camp program for at-risk children in nine cities across the United States and AileyDance for Active Aging, a program bring the joy of dance to adults in community centers, residential homes and assisted living.

This summer as part of Ailey Moves NYC!, Ailey Arts In Education offers free workshops in the five boroughs that bring communities together, including: West African, Latin and Hip Hop workshops for the entire family; Active Aging workshops for adults 50+; and Revelations workshops that welcome all ages to learn excerpts of Alvin Ailey’s iconic Revelations. All workshops offer participants a souvenir fan, a signature prop seen in Ailey’s Revelations. 

· Ailey Extension (2005) fulfills Mr. Ailey’s life-long commitment to bringing dance to everyone by offering “real classes for real people.” With nearly 40 weekly classes and special workshops each month, Ailey Extension invites students all over the world to explore different dance styles seven days a week. Ailey Extension currently offers a variety of in-person, virtual, and hybrid class options in techniques like hip-hop, ballet, Horton, West African, Zumba®, contemporary, Pilates, Broadway Jazz, and more.

Visit www.alvinailey.org/extension for the latest schedule. 

The Ailey Organization

In accordance with groundbreaking choreographer Alvin Ailey’s dictum that “dance is for everybody,” the Ailey organization offers dance performances, training and education and community programs that use the American modern dance tradition and the beauty of the African American heritage and other cultures to enlighten, unite and inspire all people. 

Ailey’s permanent home—the largest building dedicated to dance in New York City, the dance capital of the world—named The Joan Weill Center for Dance, is located at 55th Street at 9th Avenue in New York City.

In accordance with groundbreaking choreographer Alvin Ailey’s dictum that “dance is for everybody,” the Ailey organization offers dance performances, training and education and community programs that use the American modern dance tradition and the beauty of the African American heritage and other cultures to enlighten, unite and inspire all people.  Ailey’s permanent home—the largest building dedicated to dance in New York City, the dance capital of the world—named The Joan Weill Center for Dance, is located at 55th Street at 9th Avenue in New York City.

For more information, visit www.alvinailey.org.

Credit Photo: Renee Robinson leading Revelations Celebration Workshop in Bryant Park. Photo by Christopher Zunner.