ALVIN AILEY'S DANCERS DAZZLE, EVEN WHEN CHOREOGRAPHY FALTERS

This article originally appeared in the Culture section of Bloomberg News on December 9, 2005.

Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has been lucky in its association with the young black choreographer Ronald K. Brown. His previous works for the company, ``Grace'' (1999) and ``Serving Nia'' (2001), showed promising skill and a rich imagination. Unfortunately his new piece, ``Ife / My Heart,'' which premiered earlier this week, disappointed.

The dance presents what I take to be three generations of the African diaspora. A quartet in ``native'' dress does vivid percussive and rippling movement. A trio in chic urban outfits, suggesting the U.S. in the 1940's, is strongly inflected by jazz.

A pair of young sweethearts, before whose dulcet innocence all barriers fall, are open to both styles, which they gentle with modern-dance lyricism.

The action shows the groups first keeping to their own ways, then gradually accepting each other. The two younger generations try out the ancestors' moves. These elders, in turn, welcome their descendants into their rituals.

Brown's message is often more than political or social; it's spiritual. But this time, it just doesn't fly.

The air is clogged by spoken texts that you can't quite make out, competing for attention with an already busy musical collage.

Meanwhile, the choreographic strategies seem naive. A circle dance may well be a metaphor for community, but the one in ``Ife'' is too tame and too pat.

Jazz Greats

The Ailey season's second new work is from Judith Jamison, the troupe's artistic director. Aptly called ``Reminiscin','' it's set to popular songs, mostly ones that Jamison first heard, she says, when her parents were dancing cheek to cheek in the living room.

They're rendered by the likes of jazz greats Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. A few more recent tunes and vocalists -- including Flack, in ``Always'' -- keep them company.

Michael Fagin contributed a barroom set inspired by Edward Hopper's ``Nighthawks.'' The dance, however, adamantly avoids the bitter loneliness the painting evokes.

Instead, Jamison offers a suite of dances about ``relationships'' that is pervaded by a feel-good atmosphere of human empathy. In her vignettes about spats, flirtations, and heartfelt, sometimes heart-sore commitments, even the difficult and sad situations promise a satisfactory resolution.

The movement is somewhat more sophisticated than the message. Jazz lies at its heart, orchestrating a contrast between svelte curves and impudent angles. Stylized mime conveys a sense of animated conversations among a proud, spirited community.

Showing Off

Overall, though, Jamison seems inspired not by music or motion, theme or idea, but by a desire to show off the facility and personality of her dancers. She is, after all, the mother of them all. And their performance is predictably divine.

It's no secret that the company's strong point is not choreography but dancers. Among the many standouts are the nervy, electrifying Dwana Adiaha Smallwood; Hope Boykin, oak-tree strong and full of deep passions; and the lovely Asha Thomas. The veteran Matthew Rushing holds his own against the young technical whizzes on the male roster, but you remember him for his sweetness and serenity.

One of the peak performances I witnessed this season came in the Ailey perennial -- ``Revelations.'' The partnering rapport between Linda Celeste Sims and Glenn Allen Sims made the poignant adagio duet, ``Fix Me, Jesus,'' as delicate, tender, and rapt as the choreographer himself might have imagined.

The penitent's swooning pitched falls into her savior's arms -- a matter of control, courage and trust -- created the illusion of a body becoming airborne through sheer spiritual grace.

Gifted and Gorgeous

Another thing the Ailey does dazzlingly is to put on a show that envelops the dancing like gift wrap on a precious package.

Opening night, for instance, is traditionally a vivid display of beautiful and powerful people -- besides the performers themselves. This year's first night, Nov. 30, was no exception.

Every promenade in the theater served as a catwalk for audience members in ravishing, often imaginative dress. The onstage preliminaries included a welcome from Jamison, whose dynamic leadership qualities are almost palpable, followed by testimony from celebs Roberta Flack, a seductive powerhouse even when she's just talking, and Taye Diggs, all voice and smile.

Miraculously, the parading and speechifying remained warm and relaxed, persuading you that the event was simply the gathering of a family. One that just happened to harbor the gifted and the gorgeous.

© 2005 Bloomberg L.P. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.