Alvin Ailey’s impassioned tribute to the profound courage and terrible anguish of Nelson and Winnie Mandela is, more broadly, a portrait of people transformed by injustice. Max Roach’s richly varied drumming and Abbey Lincoln’s vocals set the emotional tone for this powerful work that lifts up those who resist oppression in any form.
Ailey Blog: The Art and Anguish of Survivors
Click here to watch the dynamic panel conversation - a collaboration between the Ailey organization and the National Center for Civil and Human Rights (NCCHR) - that focused on the Center's March on Washington 60th anniversary exhibition and the new production of Ailey's Survivors. Panelists include Artistic Director Robert Battle, NCCHR Director of Exhibitions Lance Wheeler, scholar, activist and historian Dr. Clarissa Myrick-Harris, and National Director of AIleyCamp Nasha Thomas; moderated by NBC News Correspondent Blayne Alexander.
"Survivors” was made in 1986 response to Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment, but it’s a “universal statement about injustice.” In 1986, revered Black American choreographer Alvin Ailey made a ferocious protest work in response to Nelson Mandela’s more than two decades of imprisonment under the heel of South Africa’s apartheid government.
Survivors’ has new resonance in a period of widespread protests. As Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to New York for its winter season, it will perform Revelations, of course, as well as a world premiere from in-demand choreographer Kyle Abraham. But it will also feature a work that has not been seen for more than 30 years: a wrenching tribute to Nelson and Winnie Mandela titled Survivors.
Renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey started his namesake dance company back in 1958, and his work has remained timeless over the decades. Whether it’s the joyous celebration of Night Creature, the playful Pas de Duke, or his most revered masterpiece, Revelations, his work can be a transcendent experience that has filled the hearts and souls of audiences around the globe.
