Ghrai DeVore

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Showing 1 – 10 of 16 Items
The New York Times - At Ailey’s Gala, Different Kinds Of Hope

The New York Times - At Ailey’s Gala, Different Kinds Of Hope

Uplift is what people expect from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. And so its no surprise that for its spring gala – this spring all springs – the company focused explicitly on themes of hope, promise and future. What’s pledged is delivered, with much of the rottenness that comes with reliability. But the Ailey company’s official hope doesn’t entirely eclipse a more troubled and therefore more trustworthy kind, supplied mostly by the troupe’s increasingly important resident choreographer, Jamar Roberts.

Town & Country - Inside The 2021 Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Spring Gala

Town & Country - Inside The 2021 Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Spring Gala

On Thursday, June 24, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater held its annual Ailey Spring Gala—this year a tribute to Washington, D.C. that drew guests including Michelle Obama, Alicia Keys, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, and Congressman James E. Clyburn. The evening honored the late Congressman John Lewis and featured three premieres, including “Hope” by Ghrai DeVore-Stokes, “Promise” by Chalvar Monteiro, and “Future” by Kanji Segawa, as well as excerpts from In Memory, a film by Ailey resident choreographer Jamar Roberts and “For Four,” a filmed dance choreographed by artistic director Robert Battle.

San Francisco Chronicle - Review: Power Of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Virtual Return To Berkeley Rivals A Live Performance

San Francisco Chronicle - Review: Power Of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Virtual Return To Berkeley Rivals A Live Performance

Eavesdrop pre-curtain at Bay Area dance shows and you’ll hear audience members sharing their top dance memories. High on almost everyone’s list? Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at UC Berkeley. The company first visited the campus in 1960, two years after its founding, and has come back every year since. And neither Artistic Director Robert Battle nor Cal Performances’ leader Jeremy Geffen were about to let that Bay Area bond lapse in a pandemic, so the dancers have returned virtually in a streaming program that does an astonishing job of relaying their in-person power. The performance premieres Thursday, June 10, with a digital “watch party,” and will be available for streaming through Sept. 8.

Miami Herald - Passion And Power Mark Ailey Troupe's Annual Miami Run

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is based in New York, but in Miami it's had a hometown aura since Liberty City-raised artistic director Robert Battle took the helm in 2011. The company just finished its annual visit to the Adrienne Arsht Center on Sunday, and - with a spotlight on "Moonlight" and its Liberty City creators - this seems like a good time to look at what the troupe's performances say about Battle's leadership.

Miami Herald - An Iconic Black Troupe Keeps Wrestling With Race

Robert Battle, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, was prepping for an interview a few years ago and figured that, as head of a storied African-American troupe, he'd be asked yet again about black dance. So he called longtime mentor Carolyn Adams, one of modern dance's few black performers during her time with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.

Dance Magazine - Ghrai DeVore

Near the end of Rennie Harris' new piece 'Home' for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, there is a section that the dancers have dubbed "twinkletoes" for its fast footwork. As they rehearse it, Ghrai DeVore flicks through the intricate, rapid combination with delicacy and prcision.

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Showing 1 – 10 of 16 Items