The company that changed American dance forever returns to Brooklyn with a robust program of dazzling recent works and modern classics. See “America’s most popular dance company” (The New Yorker) on the BAM stage, where Alvin Ailey first performed in 1956. Over 65 years later, the company continues to champion African American artistry and forge a bold new path for Ailey’s legacy—and modern dance itself.

Please note: Tickets for this event go on sale to the general public in February 2024.

BAM’s corner of Fort Greene transforms into a pulsing celebration of community, discovery, and collective joy at this beloved annual festival. We join with longtime neighbors, first-time visitors, the DanceAfrica Council of Elders, and our partners at Weeksville Heritage Center and The Billie Holiday Theater (formerly Restoration Arts) to create the nation’s largest festival of African dance—and Brooklyn’s unofficial start of summer. Featuring the iconic outdoor bazaar, traditional dance and music from Cameroon, classes, workshops, late-night dance parties, and FilmAfrica’s lineup of cinematic gems, this can’t-miss cultural celebration electrifies Brooklyn for a 47th year.

Set to a free jazz score by Grammy-winning artist Solange Knowles, Gianna Reisen’s Play Time features a cavorting ensemble of ten dancers in metallic and jewel-toned, business suit-inspired costumes covered in pinstripes of brilliantly eye-catching Swarovski crystals designed by Alejandro Gómez Palomo.

Gianna Reisen’s Play Time is her third work for New York City Ballet, following Composer’s Holiday (2017) and Judah (2018). Play Timefeatures a commissioned score by Grammy-Award winning singer, songwriter, and visual artist Solange Knowles, her first for a ballet company. The ballet for 10 dancers, which premiered at the 2022 Fall Fashion Gala, includes costumes by fashion designer Alejandro Gómez Palomo for Palomo Spain, featuring Swarovski crystals, and lighting by Mark Stanley.

Premiere

September 28, 2022, New York City Ballet, David H. Koch Theater

Costumes

Alejandro Gómez Palomo for Palomo Spain

This year, Ailey II – The Next Generation of Dance – marks its 50th anniversary of merging the spirit and energy of the country’s finest early-career dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding and emerging choreographers.

Founded by Alvin Ailey in 1974, this universally renowned company embodies his pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training, and community programs for all people. Under the leadership of Sylvia Waters, who served as artistic director for 38 seasons, Ailey II flourished into one of the most popular modern dance companies, combining a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs.

Today, with Artistic Director Francesca Harper at the helm, she brings fresh perspectives to Mr. Ailey’s legacy, while nurturing new creative voices and propelling the company forward.

Program

Divining (excerpt) by Judith Jamison
Ailey Highlights by Alvin Ailey
Enemy in the Figure (excerpt) by William Forsythe
John 4:20 by Baye & Asa
Luminous by Francesca Harper

Program is 1 hour and 52 minutes. Programs, casting, and prices are subject to change without notice.

Since the 1930s, The 92nd Street Y, New York has welcomed and supported the leading lights of American contemporary dance — providing a space for them to develop and showcase their work when other doors were closed.

This landmark 150th Anniversary performance welcomes the legendary companies whose founders made these halls their home — Ailey II, Martha Graham Dance Company, and José Limón Dance Company. Bridging generations of pioneering dance makers, the evening pairs these dance companies with leading contemporary artists — Omar Román De Jesús, Jamar Roberts, and Hope Boykin — for a one-night-only celebration of the legendary choreographers and performers who shaped modern dance. Inspired by the past, transforming for the future, join us for this once-in-a-lifetime, only-at-92NY event.

The Limón Dance Company performs José Limón’s “There Is a Time,” paired with Omar Román De Jesús’ duet for two men, “Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight.”

The Martha Graham Dance Company performs “Appalachian Spring Suite,” paired with an excerpt of a new work from Jamar Roberts.

Ailey II — The Next Generation of Dance — will perform an Ailey Classics program “Blues Suite,” paired with a world premiere by Hope Boykin, celebrating 92NY’s 150th anniversary.

Tickets include access to a new exhibition, Dance to Belong: A History of Dance at 92NY, in 92NY’s Weill Art Gallery, on view from March 12-October 31, 2024.