{"id":111491,"date":"2026-04-09T23:49:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T06:49:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=111491"},"modified":"2026-04-17T18:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T01:03:15","slug":"alvin-ailey-opening-night-dazzles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/alvin-ailey-opening-night-dazzles\/","title":{"rendered":"Alvin Ailey Opening Night Dazzles!"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/a>Review by Jo Tomalin<\/span>
\nForAllEvents.com<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Alvin Ailey Opening Night Dazzles!<\/span><\/h1>\n

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Cal Performances presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, April 2-7, 2024, in Zellerbach Hall. (credit: Dario Calmese)<\/span><\/div>\n
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The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater presented their opening night program of four pieces including three Bay Area Premieres \u2013 <\/span>and Revelations the well known Ailey favorite – <\/span>on Tuesday April 7, 2026 at Zellerbach Hall, produced by Cal Performances in Berkeley. The company continues their run with four different programs until Saturday, April 8, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The program opens with Blink of an Eye, <\/span>2025, <\/span>a Company premiere choreographed by Medhi Walerski, exploring the fragile boundary between presence and absence. Set to exquisite music by Johann Sebastian Bach, rapturously performed by Itz<\/span>h<\/span>ak Perlman. Blink of an Eye is a beautiful virtuosic work for eight dancers. The approximately fifteen minute piece has everything, it is all at once muscular and sensitive, statuesque and flowing – and fleeting. Engaging trios, duos and solos intersperse with athletic motifs that melt into the inventive choreography – at times with a sense of urgency and others with a <\/span>sustaining<\/span> relationship to the music. A vibrant male solo of complex physicality and choreography is brief but oh so impactful! <\/span>The <\/span>Allemande from Johann Sebastian Bach\u2019s Violin Partita No. 2 in D minor, V 1004; adagio and Presto from Violin Partita No. 1 in G minor, BWV1001 <\/span>are<\/span> a perfect pairing for this memorable piece<\/span><\/span>. Blink of an Eye is an exciting new addition to the company repertoire that I look forward to seeing again.<\/span> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Song of the Anchorite, <\/span>2025 Bay Area Premiere,<\/span> is a meditative solo <\/span>performed by<\/span> Yannick Lebrun. <\/span>This piece is <\/span>c<\/span>horeographed by Jamar Roberts <\/span>as a personal act of gratitude to Alvin Ailey,<\/span> set to music composed by Maurice Ravel, <\/span>the Adagio assai from Ravel\u2019s Piano Concerto in G major<\/span>. <\/span>Yannick\u2019s sculptural dance to beautiful, soft, melodic music with heart beat punctuations is visceral <\/span>and reflective<\/span>. The choreography explores the space in <\/span>pensive <\/span>curves,<\/span>arcs of <\/span>movement with outstretched arms and a surprise at the end of this short piece. A <\/span>visual <\/span>highlight is the dramatic large branch of a tree upstage – scenic design by Joseph Anthony Gaito.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Next, Difference Between, 2025, Bay Area Premiere <\/span>c<\/span>horeographed by Matthew Neenan<\/span> i<\/span>n<\/span> stunning turquoise light ombre to black <\/span>highlights the seven dancers as they move together as a group <\/span>set <\/span>to wonderfully vibrant music written and performed by Heather Christian & the Arbornauts. Sections of interesting vocalizing and plaintive song <\/span>merge well with theatrical dance motifs with sounds of whispers and sudden silences. Dancers frolic with joy <\/span>and<\/span> changes of pace until <\/span>a <\/span>sinuous duo <\/span>accompanied by a <\/span>moody <\/span>guitar merge into a glorious atmosphere of friendship. This piece is <\/span>poetic, <\/span>profound and uplifting!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, Revelations, the most famous piece <\/span>of<\/span> the company, <\/span>choreographed by Ailey in 1960 <\/span>is<\/span> set to traditional music comprising ten different dance numbers <\/span>including<\/span> Wade in the Water, Sinner Man, <\/span>and<\/span> Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham, all adapted and arranged by Howard A. Roberts. The latter is the wildly popular oft repeated coda<\/span> performed during <\/span>encore <\/span>curtain calls! <\/span>Beautiful decor and costumes by Ves Harper and costume dresses <\/span>redesigned by Barbara Forbes with lighting by Nicola Cernovitch all come together to create a moving <\/span>rousing performance.<\/span> Outstanding rhythmic dance, theatrical flourishes and visual storytelling! Seeing Revelations is always a glorious experience when the company and audience magically become one, enjoying the outstanding visual and moving dances that resonate with everyone, no matter how many times we see this piece! Highly Recommended!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

More Information and Tickets:<\/span><\/p>\n

Cal Performances<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Jo Tomalin Instagram: jotomalin<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Review by Jo Tomalin ForAllEvents.com   Alvin Ailey Opening Night Dazzles! Cal Performances presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, April 2-7, 2024, in Zellerbach Hall. (credit: Dario Calmese)   The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":5,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[1005,143],"class_list":{"0":"post-111491","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-jo-tomalin","7":"tag-alvin-ailey","8":"tag-cal-performances"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"