Celebrate Dance With Ailey Ensemble

The artistic work of the late Alvin Ailey lives on in two modern dance companies, one of which is returning to the Inland Northwest to perform Tuesday night.

The Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble will perform three works during an appearance in Pullman. The ensemble danced in Coeur d’Alene in January 1995 at a nearly sold-out performance.

Ailey formed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in New York in 1958 and nearly 20 years later created the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble. As the director and choreographer for both companies, Ailey created a dance style of his own, blending ballet, modern dance and jazz. He incorporated American Indian ritual and diverse elements such as those drawn from Irish poetry into his dances, which always drew from the African-American experience.

Ailey died in 1989 and Sylvia Waters continues his traditions as artistic director of the Repertory Ensemble.

Tuesday’s program will include “Revelations” and “Isba,” both choreographed by Ailey, and “Meridians,” choreographed in 1995 by Andre Tyson.

“Revelations” became Ailey’s signature piece. It reaches deep into African-American culture and is a celebratory dance set to 10 spirituals.

In “Isba,” Ailey combined the New Age music of George Winston with the influence of African dance and ritual for a sensual and joyful glimpse of a couple courting. The ensemble performed this powerful and arresting dance in its Coeur d’Alene appearance.

The lone non-Ailey dance, “Meridians,” was set to music by Antonio Carlos Scott. The piece is a representation of disbelief and truth.

A biography of Ailey - “Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance” written by New York Times dance critic Jennifer Dunning - was published last fall. Meticulously detailed, the biography explains Ailey’s devotion to dance. Of his life-long love of the art form, Ailey said: “To dance is to stretch up into the warm sun or jump clear across a dauntingly large puddle… . Dance is wrapping one’s arms around and steadying someone loved or pushing someone away. It is curling up, even for a moment, into a still, dark, private place.”

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MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BALLET The Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble will perform at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman. Tickets are $25, $20 and $16 for adults; $25, $16 and $10 for students; and $25, $12 and $8 for children, available at G&B Select-a-Seat outlets or call (800) 325-SEAT.