Legendary Alvin Ailey dance troupe returns to Detroit with world premiere performances

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12-03-2025

The world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater troupe will return to the Detroit Opera House this weekend, with multiple world premiere performances on the schedule.
Chief among them is 'Sacred Songs,' a new work choreographed by Ailey interim artistic director Matthew Rushing, with music by Du'Bois Akeen. The piece is unique and highly anticipated as a spiritual sequel to the late Ailey's masterpiece, 'Revelations.'
'Revelations,' which must be witnessed to be believed, is more than just the company's signature piece; it is a singular, dam-bursting emotional achievement in art that leaves audiences weeping with gratitude and shouting with praise.
So, too, does 'Sacred Songs,' which utilizes songs discarded from Ailey's original, longer draft of 'Revelations.' The piece was originally commissioned by New York's Whitney Museum as part of an Ailey exhibition and used dancers from Ailey Extension, a program where non-professional dancers with nine-to-five jobs take dance classes and perform. Last December, Rushing redeveloped it for the main company for its New York debut.
'Oh, it was a massive process,' Rushing said of the collaborative process with A'Keen. 'It was one of the most gratifying experiences I had in 2024. First of all, it's taking on the task of creating a work celebrating 'Revelations.' It's huge and it's intimidating at the same time because you don't want people to think that you're trying to create another 'Revelations.' Instead, I just wanted to pay tribute to the ballet. So, when I found out the original version of 'Revelations' was over an hour long and Mr. Ailey condensed it to take it on tour, I found the songs that Mr. Ailey took out, and decided to make a contemporary version of these songs so that the ballet I created would speak to not only past generations, but also our current and hopefully future generations.
'Normally, I'm in the studio with other dancers and our focus is creating choreography, but in this sense, teaming up with a musical director like Du'Bois was a new experience, but extremely fruitful, inspiring … all the good things.'
A'Keen also spoke glowingly of the creative process with Rushing.
'When I started dancing,' he said, 'probably one of the first dance pieces I saw at, like, 19 was 'Revelations,' with Matthew performing in it. It was brilliant. We reconnected in 2020 or 2021, and then in 2023, we were grabbing a coffee or something, and he mentioned that he had this idea for a work that would be made up of these songs that were originally omitted from 'Revelations' for touring purposes. There were nine or so pieces of music that were cut, and he wanted to resurrect those and make a new work.
'I'm like, 'Absolutely – that would be a dream come true, to be able to work with Matthew in any capacity.' And he had known of my work in opera and dance, had seen me singing and performing and directing choirs. Those gospel roots, the choir, the opera, all of it kind of became a perfect storm for us to work together.'
A'Keen said they began receiving requests for recordings of the music heard during the work, so "Sacred Songs" was released as an album.
The music itself is powerful and refreshing, mighty yet gentle. The strong foundation of Negro spirituals is reshaped with operatic adventures, a heavy layer of jazz, and even rock influences.
'I always tell people I'm a student of Black culture,' said A'Keen, 'and I think that American culture is Black culture – that's my hot take. And so all of those musical influences from further back than we even explored in this work, from the field holler to the Negro spiritual, to the blues, to the gospel, to the R&B – all of these sounds are alive inside of us. They're blood memory, as Mr. Ailey would say.
'So it felt important for me to tap into those different sonic frameworks and explore the potential and possibility of using these Negro spirituals as a base, but also see how far they could go. 'Can it be a rock and roll song?' 'Can it be a calypso celebration song?' 'Can it be a quintessential '90s/early 2000s gospel sound?' And we have a jazz swing piece. We really wanted to play with form, and that was a big part of my research process – thinking about how to bend and mix genres.'
Both collaborators said the response to 'Sacred Songs' has been wildly enthusiastic.
'It has been pretty amazing, I'm gonna be honest,' said Rushing. 'One of the challenging things about being a choreographer (is) you never know how the public will receive the work. Of course, you want everybody to enjoy it and embrace it, but you never know. But it's been extremely good feedback. People have said that they have been brought to tears and they've experienced peace by seeing the ballet, so I'm very happy.'
'Sacred Songs' will be performed at Friday night and Saturday afternoon's shows, along with Elisa Monte's 1981 classic, sensual duet 'Treading' and Ronald K. Brown's rapturous 1999 'Grace,' which taps into Duke Ellington, Jennifer Holiday and Fela Kuti for a 12-dancer journey to the Promised Land.
Also this weekend: Detroit Public Theatre's 'Confederates' examines struggles of Black women in America
Saturday night and Sunday afternoon's programs will include the world premiere of choreographer Hope Boykin's 'Finding Free,' set to a jazz and gospel-influenced score by prodigy Matthew Whitaker, and – another world premiere – 'Many Angels,' choreographed by Lar Lubovitch to the music of Gustav Mahler. These two performances will also close with the foundational 'Revelations.'
One of the dancers in Monte's 'Treading' duet is 11-year Ailey veteran Jacquelin Harris, who is not from Detroit but has a major family presence in the Motor City.
'I'm originally from Charlotte, North Carolina,' she said, 'but I have family on both my maternal and my paternal side coming to see me in Detroit. A maternal grandmother and all of my aunts and uncles and cousins are coming. I think they've bought almost 100 tickets. They're really excited about that. And then, on my paternal side, I have some aunts and some cousins who are up in the Detroit area, so it always feels like a homecoming, even though I'm not technically from there.'
For the troupe's 2024 Detroit performance, so many of Harris' relatives attended that they rented a bus to deliver them all to the opera house.
'They're getting the bus this year, as well,' she said, laughing. 'They were able to revive that tradition. So it's going to be a packed house. I told them to scream loud, so I hope they bring the energy!'
Harris also paid tribute to the late Judith Jamison, Ailey's muse, who danced with the company from 1965 – 1980 and then served as artistic director for more than two decades after Ailey's death in 1989. A legendary, towering figure in American arts, Jamison died last November at 81.
'I'm excited to bring these works,' she said. 'I feel like this season, we're really celebrating dancing's spirit, honoring the life and legacy of Judith Jamison. All of the works that we bring definitely speak to humanity. They speak to our souls. They allow our spirits to shine. I hope that the community feels the Ailey spirit and enjoys our presence, as we enjoy their presence every single year.'
Rushing added to the Jamison praise.
'One of the beautiful things about legacy,' he said, 'is that as one passes and makes their transition, the things that they have given their life to continue. And it is very clear that Ms. Jamison committed her life to extending Mr. Ailey's legacy. She was a visionary, a mentor, a trailblazer, an incredible dance artist as well as choreographer, and so we're committing the rest of our time here on this earth to celebrating her life and legacy.
'Our mission of dance came from the people, and we have to deliver it back to the people. Detroit has always been a faithful audience, and this is a partnership that we're going to honor as much as possible.'
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform four times between Friday, March 14, and Sunday, March 16, at the Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St. Tickets start at $30 and can be purchased at detroitopera.org or by calling 313-237-7464.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Co. members will offer a masterclass at the Detroit Opera House on Saturday, March 15, at 11 a.m. The class will include modern technique and movement from Mr. Ailey's signature works and is most suitable for intermediate/advanced dancers ages 13 and up. Pre-registration is required due to space limitations; to reserve a space, visit https://detroitopera.org/show/alvin-ailey-masterclass/, contact the box office at 313-237-7464, or email [e-mail].
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Legendary Alvin Ailey dance troupe returns to Detroit this weekend