Revelations

I have been in love with Alvin Ailey’s iconic masterpiece Revelations since I first saw it on video in the early 1990’s. I have watched it over and over, shared it with my students, studied it. I have seen Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II perform it live on several occasions, an experience I highly recommend to everyone.

I’ve given much thought to the power of this work of dance art over the years. Created in 1960, it has been performed by AAADT all over the world, and is considered the most widely seen modern dance. Using African-American spirituals and gospel songs, and formed around Mr. Ailey’s memories of his childhood in Texas and in the Baptist Church, it is divided into three connected sections – Pilgrim of Sorrow; Take Me To The Water, and Move, Members, Move – each with multiple parts.

Part of the work’s power is derived from its structure. The three sections are distinct, with different costumes, colors, and themes. Yet the ballet seamlessly unfolds, taking the viewer with it on a definite journey. Some of the choreography seems simple – side bends and gestural arm movements done in unison form the basis for the famous opening, I Been ‘Buked. However, by grouping the dancers in a tight central formation for the unison, inserting levels and unpredictable moments of individual timing in the arm movements, and then opening the group across the stage, taking the dancers away from each other only to inexorably draw them back together, Mr. Ailey imbued these simple gestures with strength and purpose.

Some of the choreography is very difficult from a technical standpoint, particularly for the men. I Wanna Be Ready is a male solo that requires intense abdominal strength and absolute control, while Sinner Man is a virtuosic trio for three men, full of jumps and turns, that never fails to make the audience go wild. This juxtaposition throughout the entire work, from simple to complex, from large groups to smaller, keeps it interesting and engaging. Every time I see Revelations, I marvel anew at how Alvin Ailey made all the right choreographic choices.

All the right choreographic choices culminated in a work that transcends the initial inspirations of Texas and the Baptist Church and speaks to universal themes of sorrow, faith, love, surrender, joy, and hope. At a pre-performance talk I once heard then-company dancer Guillermo Asca respond to the question of if he ever got tired of performing Revelations, because it is in the repertory of the company each season. His response was no, and he compared it to being able to look at a masterpiece painting every day of your life. I got to meet and work with Mo, as his friends call him, when I worked for AileyCamp New York a few years ago, and we talked about this some more, after I shared that I had heard him speak. He told me that, for him, each rehearsal and each performance brought something new to his experience of the work – different people dancing different roles around him, dancing different parts himself, different audience reactions, noticing a certain nuance of a step or a quality in a dancer he hadn’t seen before…every time he got to be a part of this work, it spoke to him again.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is making certain works available online right now with their All Access program, and they started this past Monday with, what else, Revelations. I hadn’t seen it in a while, on video or live, and when I heard the music and saw that stunning opening grouping, I got chills. I watched, enthralled. I grew teary-eyed at Fix Me, Jesus, and couldn’t stop my body from moving to Wade in the Water. I whooped after Sinner Man, laughed with the gossiping ladies waving their yellow fans in The Day is Past and Gone, and clapped through the encore of Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham. I didn’t want it to end.

Revelations spoke to me, again. That’s what great art does.