If memory serves, it has been a long five years since the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater last graced the stage at Merrill Auditorium. Cheers from the packed house Wednesday night indicated the audience appreciated the return of the company, a late-season treat from Portland Ovations.

The high-energy dancers offered a variety of pieces, leaning toward new or newly revised work while also bringing back a famous classic in the roughly 90-minute performance (not including intermissions). From entrancing solos to dazzling ensemble passages, there was almost too much to take in as the dancers embodied the company’s signature way of combining roots, reverence and celebration in sophisticated yet relatable ways.

“Dancing Spirit,” a piece choreographed by Ronald K. Brown, lived up to its title. A sense of joyful expression developed slowly through passages of infectious music by Duke Ellington, Wynton Marsalis and others. Sequential poses and balletic flourishes traversed styles originating in old and new world cultures in this major piece led by an extraordinary goddess figure (Hannah Alissa Richardson) and her followers. Flowing white and blue costumes appeared, at times, to glow as the rhythms intensified. A projected full moon filled the backdrop with a sense of mysterious power.

The more theatrical “Me, Myself and You” followed. Choreographed by Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, a man (Jeroboam Bozeman) visits a woman (Samantha Figgins) in what might be her boudoir for an intimate encounter. Delicate lifts were a highlight as well as individual flourishes. Again, music by Duke Ellington surrounded the work, this time to create a sense of a (past?) moment which must be forever held dear.

Despite its title, “Solo” actually involved three male dancers (Chalvar Monteiro, Yannick Labrun, Patrick Coker) engaged in a sort of comic competition set to fast-paced solo violin music by J. S. Bach. The choreography by Hans van Manen demanded incredible energy matched with impressive body control, all leading to increasingly frantic attempts by each performer to outdo the others. As throughout the evening, the wow factor was operative, this time with sought-after laughs mixed in.

The evening finished with a performance of “Revelations,” choreographed by Alvin Ailey and danced by various company members. The classic piece can be thought of in the same way as works by Martha Graham and others in the pantheon of American choreographers who combined the formal and the folksy in inspiring ways. It has indeed held onto its gospel-inspired magic through the decades since its premiere in 1960.

Each passage, from spiritual reflection through struggle and determination to hopeful celebration, employed fitting touches of ensemble style enhanced by imaginative costume design. Twirling parasols and fluttering fans were attractively incorporated by female dancers supported by male companions caught up in a work full of transcendent grace and undiminished inspirational power. By way of an encore, the dancers offered a return to the uplifting close of the piece.

Always a pleasure to see, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre remains a national treasure.

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

At Bowdoin, drawings entrance and Asian American art is reframed

Next »

‘The Fall Guy’ takes stunt casting to new heights