Alvin Ailey has been in the news a lot lately, as they’ve been working on finessing a contract dispute. The dancers recently staged a boycott that stated they were paid less than other predominately ethnically white companies of a similar size and status. The good news is that the contract issues have been resolved, the dancers are back at it, and are ready to work. And by work, we really mean WERK! This season, ladies have really taken over the choreography front, and the company will be performing some female dominant classics for what they are calling the “Celebrate Women Program.”
It seems that the world is realizing that female choreographers are scarce, and maybe we should do something about it. On June 13th and 16th, amid their season of performances at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Ailey company will be performing some femme classics. What’s on the docket? Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison's “A Case of You” and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's “Shelter.” Oh, and they’ll also be premiering a brand new work by Jessica Lang called “EN,” which is bomb dot com and totally on board with the whole #wherethegirlsat when it comes to choreo thing.
The truth is, we could probably count on our hands and toes the amount of well known female choreographers. So the fact that Ailey is trying to bring some support to the female famine is pretty awesome. Can I get a “You go girl!” please?