Ailey II leaps onto the Russell stage

Town & Gown Arts will present Ailey II on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. in Russell Auditorium on the Campus of Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville.
Town & Gown Arts, now in its 25th year, is a unique partnership between Allied Arts and the Georgia College & State University Arts Unlimited Committee. The goal of this partnership is to bring high quality, professional performing arts events that are affordable and accessible to both the university community and the general public.
“We are excited to have a company of this quality perform in central Georgia,” Allied Arts Executive Director Randy Cannon said. “Ailey’s well known signature piece ‘Revelations,’ choreographed by Alvin Ailey, will be included in this performance.”
The Ailey II dance company merges the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. Ailey II began in 1974 as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, when Alvin Ailey initiated a workshop composed of the most promising scholarship students from The Ailey School. Mr. Ailey handpicked the original members of the Company from among that group. Ailey II, which emphasizes a balance of repertoire, technique and performance, has become one of the most popular dance companies in the United States.
Under the direction of Sylvia Waters, Ailey II invigorates the American dance scene by offering unique opportunities for artists. Ailey II members, who have each completed advanced programs at The Ailey School, refine their technique while gaining invaluable performing and teaching experience during their tenure with the company (usually two years). Throughout its history, more than 50 Ailey II members have been selected to join the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Many others have gone on to pursue successful careers as dancers, teachers and choreographers with other professional dance companies, on Broadway and in schools.
In recent years, Ailey II’s distinctive repertoire has included works by dance masters Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Lar Lubovitch and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Judith Jamison and such innovative choreographers as Donald Byrd, Shapiro & Smith, Shen Wei, Avila/Weeks, Robert Battle, Kevin Wynn and Ulysses Dove. The company’s 2003-2004 tour consists of performances in approximately 40 United States cities. Their annual New York performances will be presented at the Joyce Theater in 2004. Ailey II continues to win unmatched critical praise for its residencies at major colleges and universities and its visits to elementary, middle and high schools throughout the country. The company has received numerous honors, awards and proclamations in recognition of its community outreach programs.
The MetLife Foundation sponsors Ailey II’s 2003-2004 National Tour. The performance in Milledgeville is sponsored by Allied Arts and the Georgia College Arts Unlimited Committee and is funded, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts in Partnership with the Southern Arts Federation and the Georgia Council for the Arts.
Tickets for the performance are $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for students and senior citizens. GC&SU students will be admitted with a current validated university ID. Call Allied Arts at (478) 452-3950 to obtain tickets or for more information.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Jan 16 2004. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry