Revelations (Alvin Ailey)
RevelationsRevelations'' (Alvin Ailey)
Revelations is the best-known work of the modern-dance choreographer Alvin Ailey.wikipedia

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Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey American Dance TheaterAlvin AlleyAiley Citigroup Theater
Revelations is the best-known work of the modern-dance choreographer Alvin Ailey. Born in 1931 in Rogers, Texas, Alvin Ailey was raised by a young, single mother named Lula Elizabeth.
Ailey's choreographic masterpiece Revelations is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world.


Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Alvin Ailey Dance CompanyAlvin Ailey Dance TheaterAlvin Ailey Dance Theatre
It is also the signature work of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which premiered an extended version of the work (lasting over an hour) in 1960, when Ailey was 29 years old.
During this period Ailey choreographed his famous work Revelations, a character dance done to traditional music.

Modern dance
modernmodern dancerModern/Contemporary dance
Revelations is the best-known work of the modern-dance choreographer Alvin Ailey.






Spiritual (music)
spiritualsspiritualNegro spiritual
Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer's own Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historical African American experience from a church-inspired perspective.
Gospel music
gospelgospel choirgospel singer
Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer's own Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historical African American experience from a church-inspired perspective.

Blues
blues musicthe bluespiano blues
Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer's own Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historical African American experience from a church-inspired perspective.









African Americans
African AmericanAfrican-Americanblack
Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer's own Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historical African American experience from a church-inspired perspective.









Black church
African-American churchBlack Protestantblack churches
Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer's own Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historical African American experience from a church-inspired perspective.







Slavery in the United States
slaveryslavesslave
The three sections of the final 36-minute revised version depict the suffering of slavery ("Pilgrim of Sorrow"), baptismal joy ("Take me to the Water"), and a choral church celebration ("Move, Members, Move").









Lester Horton
HortonLester Horton School of Modern Dancethe Horton technique
While drawing on the modern-dance techniques of Lester Horton, who had been Ailey's mentor, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the dancing is also influenced by the movement studies of Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus.
Martha Graham
GrahamMartha Graham Dance CompanyGraham technique
While drawing on the modern-dance techniques of Lester Horton, who had been Ailey's mentor, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the dancing is also influenced by the movement studies of Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus.



Doris Humphrey
Doris Batcheller HumphreyDoris Humphrey Repertory Co.The Doris Humphrey Foundation
While drawing on the modern-dance techniques of Lester Horton, who had been Ailey's mentor, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the dancing is also influenced by the movement studies of Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus.

Asadata Dafora
Asadata Dafora Horton
While drawing on the modern-dance techniques of Lester Horton, who had been Ailey's mentor, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the dancing is also influenced by the movement studies of Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus.

Katherine Dunham
Katharine DunhamKatherine Dunham SchoolBlue Holiday
While drawing on the modern-dance techniques of Lester Horton, who had been Ailey's mentor, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the dancing is also influenced by the movement studies of Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus.




Pearl Primus
While drawing on the modern-dance techniques of Lester Horton, who had been Ailey's mentor, Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey, the dancing is also influenced by the movement studies of Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus.




White House
The White HouseExecutive MansionPresident's House
Revelations has been presented at the White House on many occasions, including the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and it also formed part of the Opening Ceremonies for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.









Jimmy Carter
CarterPresident CarterPresident Jimmy Carter
Revelations has been presented at the White House on many occasions, including the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and it also formed part of the Opening Ceremonies for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.









Bill Clinton
ClintonPresident ClintonPresident Bill Clinton
Revelations has been presented at the White House on many occasions, including the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and it also formed part of the Opening Ceremonies for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.









Olympic Games ceremony
opening ceremonyopening and closing ceremoniesclosing ceremony
Revelations has been presented at the White House on many occasions, including the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and it also formed part of the Opening Ceremonies for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.









1968 Summer Olympics
19681968 Olympic Games1968 Olympics
Revelations has been presented at the White House on many occasions, including the presidential inaugurations of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, and it also formed part of the Opening Ceremonies for the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City.




Rogers, Texas
Rogers
Born in 1931 in Rogers, Texas, Alvin Ailey was raised by a young, single mother named Lula Elizabeth.

Sinner Man
SinnermanDownpresser ManOh, Sinner Man
This section includes the propulsive men's trio "Sinner Man" and the "Yellow" section, set in a southern Baptist rural church.

Loretta Abbott
She was Alvin Ailey's partner in his masterpiece dance piece Revelations (Alvin Ailey) prior to his retirement in 1964.

Cynthia Clarey
She worked professionally as a chorister in New York City for a time, singing for shows like Carmina Burana and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company's Revelations.