Alvin Ailey American Ballet Theater is closed like theater spaces around the world. The stage has gone dark, but Ailey isn’t turning off the lights on its performances. “We know you can’t see the Ailey dancers perform in a theater, so we wanted to make sure you can still find comfort and joy in the beauty of dance by virtually connecting with their performances,” the theater says on their website. One way that they’re staying virtually connected is with Ailey All Access.
Ailey All Access, the theater’s YouTube channel, is full of clips from performances and extended conversations with performers about behind the scenes of the performances, choreography, and creation that happens at Ailey Theater, but they’ve decided to take it a step further. Starting this week, they will be sharing videos of Ailey performances for a limited time.
The first video to premiere will be Ailey’s Night Creature, originally created in 1974 for a television special, the performance made its way to the theater in 1975. To celebrate the release of this Ailey classic, Ailey dancers shared a distance ensemble version of the Night Creature that brings the masterpiece choreographed to Duke Ellington’s music into 2020.
But we’re still excited to enjoy the Night Creature as it was originally intended, on the stage. This large ensemble piece will make its digital debut on the Ailey All Access channel on April 23 at 7:00 PM EST. It will be available to watch until April 26. And you’re going to want to subscribe to the channel! Jamar Roberts’ Ode will premiere next on April 30 and be available until May 1.