Since Ailey’s death in 1989, Judith Jameson has led the company in the spirit of her predecessor. Now in her last year as artistic director, she brings together a collection of works that illustrate the company’s strengths.
Made in 1971, George W Faison’s Suite Otis is a distinctive tribute to the legendary soul singer Otis Redding. Following a snatch of the whistled chorus from Dock of the Bay, the cast throw themselves into a vivid interpretation of Redding’s work, creating male/female dialogues that are elegant, athletic and sometimes very funny. Vibrant group pieces alternate with duets and a standout version of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction spills over the rim of the stage with sexual joy.
In sharp contrast, Robert Battle’s The Hunt, made earlier this year, is a dynamic six-hander for men that feeds off images of warrior rites, bloodletting and possession. Danced to the clattering percussion of Les Tambours du Bronx, its ferocious tribalism recalls elements of Hofesh Schecter’s work, without the political subtext.
Ronald K Brown’s Dancing Spirit lowers the temperature with its lack of focus and inconsequential movement, in spite of music by Duke Ellington and Radiohead. The tie-dyed batik costumes don’t help, either.
The short solo, In/Side by Robert Battle (who will be taking over as Artistic Director from Jameson next year) is danced with consummate technique and conviction by Samuel Lee Roberts. It is an intensely focused piece of catharsis and paranoia in which Roberts twists, leaps, shakes and stretches in the performance of the night.
Ailey’s signature work from 1960, Revelations, concludes the evening with theatrical gusto. Inspired by gospel, blues and spirituals its ten sequences delineate the black experience in America with unfettered joy, humour and strong emotion. The Sinner Man trio (Jamar Roberts, Clifton Brown and Kirven James Boyd) provide an outstanding example of the company’s bravura technique, including a series of airborne splits from a crouching start.
Don’t try this at home.
Production information can change over the run of the show.
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