About Ailey

Ailey All Access. Still, We Dance
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, recognized by U.S. Congressional resolution as a vital American “Cultural Ambassador to the World,” has performed for over 25 million people in 48 states and in 71 countries on 6 continents, celebrating the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition. Ailey’s permanent home is The Joan Weill Center for Dance, the largest building dedicated to dance in New York City,  the dance capital of the world.

The Ailey Organization includes: Ailey II (a second performing company of young dancers and emerging choreographers), The Ailey School (one of the world's most extensive dance training programs), Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs (which bring dance into classrooms and communities), and Ailey Extension (offering dance and fitness classes to the public). 

Featured News Releases

Ailey Extension Welcomes Kids And Teens To Get Moving During Physical Fitness Month With Special Workshops And The Launch Of The Summer Kids & Teens Sunday Dance Series

(NEW YORK) April 28, 2022 – Ailey Extension is encouraging New York City’s young dancers to get moving during National Physical Fitness Month with the return of in-studio Kids & Teens classes and special workshops. Starting in May, fully vaccinated kids (ages 5-11) and teens (ages 12-17) can enjoy class in Ailey’s studios at the Joan Weill Center for Dance – NYC’s largest building dedicated to dance – to have fun while learning hip-hop, ballet, West African, contemporary and Broadway Jazz in a welcoming and nurturing environment with their peers. Classes for kids and teens are designed to help children of all experience levels explore movement and learn the healthy habit of exercising at an early age.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Announces Lincoln Center Season Capping Artistic Director Robert Battle's 10th Anniversary June 15-19, 2022

New York – April 21, 2022 – Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, beloved as one of the world’s most popular dance companies, returns to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ David H. Koch Theater June 15-19, 2022, for a six- performance engagement that caps a decade of Artistic Director Robert Battle’s leadership. Ailey’s acclaimed dancers bring to life four diverse, dynamic programs featuring the world premiere of Ailey Resident Choreographer Jamar Roberts’s In a Sentimental Mood, the company premiere of Paul Taylor’s Duet, Alvin Ailey’s The River, a Battle 10th Anniversary program, and more. Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations provides the uplifting finale of each performance.

Ailey II - The Next Generation Of Dance - Returns To The Ailey Citigroup Theater For Two-Week Season March 23 - April 3

NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 16, 2022 — Ailey II, the celebrated second company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, returns to its home, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, for a highly anticipated two-week season featuring 10 performances from March 23 - April 3. The gifted 12-member ensemble will treat New York audiences to three dynamic programs featuring works by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Robert Battle, William Forsythe, Ailey II Artistic Director Francesca Harper, Ailey company member Yannick Lebrun, and Andrea Miller.

Featured Press Coverage

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WBUR - Dancer Belén Indhira Pereyra returns to Boston with Alvin Ailey

ancer Belén Indhira Pereyra learned at a young age that dance is a language of its own. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, Pereyra got her first taste of the art form when she was seven years old and joined a traditional Peruvian dance group, led by a woman who just wanted to share her culture. From there, she joined Lawrence Ballet Academy, where she learned the vocabulary behind the steps and began to learn hip-hop and jazz. But once she enrolled at Boston Arts Academy for high school, her passion for dance flourished, and she discovered the style that she most connects to: modern.

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Dance Magazine - Beyond The Studio With 4 Pros on Their Intensely Athletic Nondance Hobbies

A career in dance is so demanding—physically and otherwise—that it can be tempting for dancers to dance, dance and only dance. It’s not uncommon to avoid other physical pursuits, whether out of fear of injury, lack of time or the now-debunked idea that certain activities build the wrong kinds of muscles. And yet, many dancers who’ve found other outlets for movement—even beyond the traditionally “dancer-approved” ones like yoga and Pilates—have found them to have a symbiotic relationship with their dance practice, each informing and growing the other. Dance Magazine spoke to four artists - including Ailey's Constance Stamatiou - with unique physical practices about what they’ve learned from them, and how they balance them with dance.

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Prevention Magazine - Move of the Month Core Strengthener With Pilin Anice

This hold gives your abdominal muscles a serious workout, hundreds of crunches not required. Pilin Anice, demonstrating this move here, is a dance instructor with Ailey Extension, which offers "real classes for real people" in a wide variety of dance and fitness techniques. To sign up for Anice's yoga class or view the schedule of virtual and in-person classes, visit aileyextension.com.