When choreographer Rohene Ward contemplates a new program for Jason Brown, he asks himself: How are we trying to touch people? How are we going to leave them feeling when they walk away?
Last spring, with frustrations in the Black community growing and COVID-19 tightening its grip, Ward thought it was time to honor Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and choreographer of “Revelations,” a landmark work telling elements of the Black American experience through modern dance.
“All of this is part of my blood memory,” Ailey said of his signature work, first staged in New York City in 1960 and now one of the most performed ballets in the world.