January 25, 2018
Celebrity Series of Boston will host two free public workshops next month offering Boston area residents of all ages and abilities the opportunity to learn and perform choreography from Alvin Ailey’s best-known modern dance work, “Revelations.”
The workshops will take place on Saturday, February 24 at 1:30 p.m. at the Salvation Army Kroc Center Gym, 650 Dudley St., Dorchester and Sunday, February 25 at 2:30 p.m. at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center, 1350 Tremont St., Roxbury.
The “Revelations Celebration Community Workshop” is part of Celebrity Series’ 50th anniversary celebration of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 1968 Boston debut. The workshops will be led by former Alvin Ailey dancer and Master Teacher Nasha Thomas and Ailey teaching artist Cheryl Rowley-Gaskins.
“Revelations” was inspired by Alvin Ailey’s childhood memories of his Baptist church in Texas, which created a dance work inspired by the universal messages of grace, spirituality and hope.
The workshops will feature choreography from the dances “I Been ‘Buked,” “Wade in the Water,” and “Rocka My Soul” sections. Families, children, dancers and non-dancers are encouraged to join this fun, inclusive and rare event.
“The most common thing I hear from audiences at our Ailey performance is, ‘I wish I could dance like that.’ We’re excited to give people a chance to do it now […]” said Celebrity Series President and Executive Director Gary Dunning. “At Celebrity Series, we believe live performance is a life-long, shared and valued experience, whether on stage, in schools, at home, or in public places.”
Each class will include props used onstage in “Revelations” and live music from Ailey teaching artist and percussionist, Roderick Jackson. Before the Dorchester workshop begins, The St. Paul AME Church choir led by Donnell Patterson will perform.
Comfortable clothes or dancewear is suggested. All are welcome. Pre-registration for the workshops is required. For more information, visit celebrityseries.org/ailey50.