Posted on Apr 2, 2023
Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey revives a coveted concert, renews its goal to diversify dance
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It’s been years since New York City's Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has performed in Kansas City. The Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, a nonprofit dance school, hopes this year's revived performance will help expand access in the metro to the art of dance.
On a dreary morning last week, a fleet of yellow school buses lined the streets around the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts. Around 1,000 students from K-12 schools in Kansas and Missouri, herded by teachers into organized lines, flooded into the theater.
Some were dressed to the nines — spring dresses and suits — for the occasion. They were about to be the first Kansas City audience in six years to watch the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
On a dreary morning last week, a fleet of yellow school buses lined the streets around the Kauffman Center for Performing Arts. Around 1,000 students from K-12 schools in Kansas and Missouri, herded by teachers into organized lines, flooded into the theater.
Some were dressed to the nines — spring dresses and suits — for the occasion. They were about to be the first Kansas City audience in six years to watch the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey revives a coveted concert, renews its goal to diversify dance
Posted from kcur.org
Dancing
Kansas City
New York City
Posted 1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good day Brother William, always informational and of the most interesting. Thanks for sharing, have a blessed day!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."KCFAA also hosts AileyCamp, a six-week intensive summer dance course that teaches jazz, modern and tap dance. The camp also teaches students how to communicate and express themselves through things like creative writing and art.
The camp was created by Ailey himself in 1989, the same year he died of complications related to AIDS.
“Even knowing his own demise was near, he wanted to make sure that we addressed the young people who didn't otherwise have the opportunity to be exposed to this,” says Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Robert Battle.
“That (camp) started in Kansas City, so I think that says it all about that deep relationship,” he says. “And so we're happy to be back.”
At the Kauffman Center last week, students got to see Black history, music and dance come together in excerpts from two acts. The first was choreographed by acclaimed African American dancer Kyle Abraham, whose dance company aims to create work that is galvanized by Black culture and history. “Are You in Your Feelings?” sucked kids in with modern music by popular Black artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
Battle says the full act blends old and new music from artists like Erykah Badu and The Flamingos.
“It's cross-generational. That's what's wonderful that it's past, present, and future,” he says. “No matter what age or what your background is, you find something to revel in when you see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.”
“I'd really love for Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey to be on the tips of everyone's tongue,” she says."
..."KCFAA also hosts AileyCamp, a six-week intensive summer dance course that teaches jazz, modern and tap dance. The camp also teaches students how to communicate and express themselves through things like creative writing and art.
The camp was created by Ailey himself in 1989, the same year he died of complications related to AIDS.
“Even knowing his own demise was near, he wanted to make sure that we addressed the young people who didn't otherwise have the opportunity to be exposed to this,” says Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Robert Battle.
“That (camp) started in Kansas City, so I think that says it all about that deep relationship,” he says. “And so we're happy to be back.”
At the Kauffman Center last week, students got to see Black history, music and dance come together in excerpts from two acts. The first was choreographed by acclaimed African American dancer Kyle Abraham, whose dance company aims to create work that is galvanized by Black culture and history. “Are You in Your Feelings?” sucked kids in with modern music by popular Black artists like Kendrick Lamar and Drake.
Battle says the full act blends old and new music from artists like Erykah Badu and The Flamingos.
“It's cross-generational. That's what's wonderful that it's past, present, and future,” he says. “No matter what age or what your background is, you find something to revel in when you see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.”
“I'd really love for Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey to be on the tips of everyone's tongue,” she says."
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