Few, if any of a specially selected group of 103 Newark students have ever stepped foot on a stage. But with each new position, leap and plie the magic of Alvin Ailey’s American dance camp weaves in each of them a powerful new story through movement. AileyCamp gives these young people a place where they can feel like it’s home,” said the National Director of AileyCamp, Nasha Thomas.
From ballet and tap to modern and jazz, Aileycamp offers classes for free. “AileyCamp gives them an opportunity to express themselves to a have a platform for creative expression," Nasha Thomas explained. The six-week program, in partnership with the Children’s Aid Society, is celebrating its 27th year in New York serving more than 100 students.
The names Alvin Ailey and Atlanta Ballet are synonymous with great dancing, and once again this summer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is teaming up with Atlanta Ballet to present an incredible opportunity to some young dancers.
Master teacher and former Ailey dancer Nasha Thomas shared some of her dance moves with students from Bowie Elementary and Charles Drew Charter. The Alvin Ailey Revelations workshop took place at the High Museum of Art in Northeast Atlanta. The workshop is part of Ailey’s new program, Destination Dance.
Some 40 students from Stapleton's Dreyfus Intermediate School spent a Thursday afternoon they won't soon forget. New York City's First Lady Chirlane McCray welcomed the 6th, 7th and 8th graders to Gracie Mansion to participate in an Alvin Ailey Dance Workshop exploring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's signature masterpiece, "Revelations," to celebrate Black History Month.
Thursday’s installment of TODAY’s series, “Hope to It,” spotlights AileyCamp, a six-week program from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater that serves kids ages 11 to 14, helping them face personal challenges through dance.
Alvin Ailey's 1960 modern dance masterpiece "Revelations" has been performed in 71 countries, and it reliably brings audiences to their feet, even dancing in the aisles. The combination of modern dance and spirituals creates a sense of uplift so infectious that most people leave the theater either singing the music or trying to dance the steps. Last week, they got a chance to learn those steps for real.
Nasha Thomas-Schmitt, a former Alvin Ailey company member and now Ailey Arts In Education Master Teacher, was in residence Thursday at William J. Christian K-8 School to lead about 50 area middle school students in "Revelations: An Interdisciplinary Approach."
It's a moving experience when Nasha Thomas-Schmitt brings the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's program to schools. Thomas-Schmitt, a dancer now in charge of the company's outreach program, put students in the South Bend Community School Corporation's arts magnets and others through their paces last week.
Students from Charles Drew Middle School, in Liberty City, participated in a workshop held by Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, WEdnesday, February 13, 2013. The Ailey troupe is building stronger connections to Miami because their artistic director Robert Battle has roots here.