Under the direction of Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to make work that feeds the soul — mining the artistic legacy of its founder and nurturing a new generation of choreographers steeped in the African-American experience. This year’s repertoire looks back to seminal works like Ailey’s own Revelations, and features new material that engages with vital social issues, including Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s exploration of homelessness in Shelter and Rennie Harris’ address of racial inequalities in the hip-hop musical Lazarus. Find out why The Guardian raved, “The current Ailey dancers inhabit Revelations as if it were freshly made, and perform it with irresistible élan,” with these powerful shows at Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley.

Additional Information:

Program A (April 9 & 13, 2019 at 8:00pm)
RENNIE HARRIS Lazarus (2018) (Bay Area Premiere) (music: Darrin Ross)
ALVIN AILEY Revelations (1960) (music: various traditional spirituals)

Program B (April 10 & 12, 2019 at 8:00pm)
WAYNE MCGREGOR Kairos (2014) (Company Bay Area Premiere)
(music: Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, re-composed by Max Richter)
JAWOLE WILLA JO ZOLLAR Shelter (1988) (music: Junior “Gabu” Wedderburn and Victor See Yuen)
ROBERT BATTLE Ella (2008) (music: Ella Fitzgerald)
JESSICA LANGEN (2018) (Bay Area Premiere) (music: Jakub Ciupinski)

Program C (April 11, 2019 at 8:00pm)
JAMAR ROBERTS Members Don’t Get Weary (2017) (music: John Coltrane)
RONALD K. BROWN The Call (2018) (Bay Area Premiere)
(music: Johann Sebastian Bach, Mary Lou Williams, Asase Yaa Entertainment Group)
ROBERT BATTLE Juba (2003) (music: John Mackey)
ALVIN AILEY Revelations (1960) (music: various traditional spirituals)

Program D (April 13, 2019 at 2:00pm & April 14, 2019 at 3:00pm)
ALVIN AILEY Timeless Ailey Special Program (1958–1986) (music: various)
AILEY_ Revelations_ (1960) (music: various traditional spirituals)