When Ailey comes to town, all hands are involved.
That was just one lesson the sold-out Hollins Theatre audience learned on Wednesday, November 20. Freddie Moore, rehearsal director for the Ailey Student Performance Group and an Ailey graduate, led the close to 400 in attendance through a dance routine in their seats.
The exercise served as a perfect (and aerobic) intermission for the evening’s Distinguished Speaker Series event, a night of captivating dance performances honoring the center’s beloved founder, Alvin Ailey, and the recently deceased Hall of Fame dancer and Ailey Director Emerita Judith Jamison. The Ailey School was founded in 1969 and is the official school of the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, headquartered in New York City.
The Ailey Student Performance Group consisted of 22 student artists from across the country and around the world. They work to perfect their craft in the Ailey style of dance which incorporates multiple techniques including ballet, Horton, Graham-based modern, jazz, West African, Dunham technique, and hip hop.
During the almost two-hour event, they performed excerpts from seven different works including Alvin Ailey’s most acclaimed pieces, Night Creature and Revelations, which capped off the evening before a rousing standing ovation.
Another surprise highlight of the evening involved 14 current Hollins students who were called to the stage to perform what they learned during a late morning class held with Moore and the performance group earlier in the day.
Prior to Wednesday’s events, Hollins hosted a dinner and viewing of the 2021 documentary Ailey for interested students on Sunday evening, and on Tuesday held a Zoom panel discussion with Kirven Douthit-Boyd M.F.A. ’19 and Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell M.F.A. ’08, Hollins alumnae who have been members of the Ailey Company.
