CrossCurrents

Probably the most popular company in the world, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has periodically visited Pittsburgh since 1969, always to great audience and critical acclaim. So I guess I can claim to be an Ailey-an.

Recently I was down in Naples, Florida for an all-too-brief winter respite. The Ailey company was appearing at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts and I decided to pay a visit. It had been all too long since I had last seen Revelations.

Kidding.

I was most interested in the changeover from artistic director Judith Jamison, a direct link to Ailey, to Robert Battle, who was brought on for his choreographic verve and strong work ethic, two assets of which I am well aware, but only the start, I’m sure, to what got him this job.

There had been another changeover since we last met. Renee Robinson, the last dancer to have worked with Ailey, retired last November and names like Dudley Williams (yes, it’s been that long!) and Clifton Brown were gone from the company list. And a trio of stars — Alicia Graf Mack, Glen Allen Sims and Linda Celeste Sims — did not make the trip.

Mr. Battle took the helm about a year and a half ago with an interesting agenda, designed to bring in master choreographers to stretch the artistic capabilities of the vaunted Ailey dancers.

The first piece was a case in point — Paul Taylor’s Arden Court, a pastoral-flavored work for six men and three women and one of his best.  It was easy to see why Mr. Battle chose it — Mr. Taylor is known as well for his strong, muscular men.

Arden Court showed the six males off to great advantage in several sections. Although the Ailey company is known for its audience communication skills, its bold physicality was showcased in a casual sense (swinging runs) and a sense of whimsy (a line of men with one upside down).

Was it a good fit? Not yet. The men seemed unstable, with a rare control problems — some wobbles here and there — and a lack of flow. But the airy and ultimately delightful choreographic sense still engaged the audience.

Battles’ own solo, Takademe, followed. Based on the rhythmic maze found in Indian music, the solo was almost always a literal translation of the oral rhythms, which, in some ways resembled a frenetic type of rap. It appeared that Takademe would always be a great showcase for the performer, and Michael Francis McBride suitably hit all of his marks.

The Ailey company next embraced Rennie Harris’ Home, a loose-knit, gaggle of a number where dancers came and went, yes, just like family and friends. It was obvious that Harris has evolved as a choreographer.

While he used, as usual, thick slabs of unison movement, there was more complexity to this crowd of participants. Eventually though, it didn’t develop the mesmerizing quality that it needed.

Which brings us to Revelations. Having seen some of the early performers (the first Pittsburgh performance had the audience dancing in the aisles), there is a certain standard of spirit that they set that remains ingrained in the memory.

http://www.youtube.com/user/AileyOrganization

Let’s just say that the extra effort, so much a part and parcel of the Ailey company, wasn’t there, although the discipline remained. So it was up to the choreography to hold firm. The opening segments from Pilgrim of Sorrow, beginning with that iconic wedge in I Been ‘Buked, did that with a simplicity of form, execution and innate spirit.