Tutorial 4: Cry and the context of Alvin Ailey`s

CRY AND THE CONTEXT OF ALVIN AILEY’S BODY OF WORK

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CRY In this tutorial you will research other works choreographed by Alvin Ailey and consider how they relate to Cry.

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AILEY’S BODY OF WORK

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When studying a prescribed work it is essential to have knowledge of other works by the choreographer to assist in identifying their choreographic style or choreographic phases throughout their career.

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AILEY’S BODY OF WORK

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Whilst many of Ailey’s works premiered to critical acclaim, he spent many years revising them before presenting them in a final format. Works such as Blues Suite and Revelations were created in this manner. Read the following excerpts about Blues Suite and Revelations in order to gain an insight about how these works were received.

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AILEY’S BLUES SUITE

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Premiere1958“Drawing on fragments of his Texas childhood… Ailey’s original program note aligned his dance with cultural roots: ‘The musical heritage of the southern Negro remains a profound influence on the music of the world… during the dark days the blues sprang full-born from the docks and fields, saloons and bawdy houses… indeed from the very souls of their creators’.”

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(Ailey Program Note, Kaufmann Concert Hall Dance Centre of the 92nd Street YM-YWHA, 30th March 1958. Cited by De Frantz, 2004).

AILEY’S REVELATIONS

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Premiere1960“This suite explores motivations and emotions of Negro religious music, which, like its heir, the Blues, takes many forms - ‘true spirituals’ with their sustained melodies, ring-shouts, song-sermons, and holy blues - songs of trouble, of love, of deliverance.”

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(Ailey Program Note, Kaufmann Concert Hall YM-YWHA, 31st January 1960. Cited by DeFrantz, 2004).

AILEY’S BODY OF WORK View other works by Alvin Ailey and identify features of his choreographic style that relate to the following: • movement characteristics (genre-specific) • manipulation of the elements of dance • relationship between movement and music • theatrical elements.

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AILEY’S BODY OF WORK

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Activity Select one of the following essay topics 1. Describe the characteristics of Alvin Ailey’s choreographic style.In your response provide specific examples from Cry and one other work. 2. Discuss Alvin Ailey’s contribution to the development of dance as an art form. In your response provide specific examples from his body of work.

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