Ailey Celebrates NYC Dance Week (6/18-27) with FREE Classes & Final Week of Lincoln Center Performances
Company:
Alvin Ailey American Dance Company
Ailey Celebrates NYC Dance Week June 18 – 27 with FREE Class Offers at The Ailey Extension
& Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Final Week of Performances at Lincoln Center, Through June 21
(New York) June 15, 2015 – Ailey celebrates NYC Dance Week, a citywide festival from June 18 – 27 that promotes the joy and diversity of dance, with FREE class offers at The Ailey Extension and performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center, through June 21.
The celebration kicks off at the Ailey Studios – home to the incomparable Ailey dancers – on Thursday, June 18 and continues through Saturday, June 27, with at least three free classes offered each day for new students* in nearly all of the 25 techniques offered at The Ailey Extension. The centerpiece of Ailey’s NYC Dance Week class offerings is a FREE Vogue class for ALL students (new and returning), led by vogue veteran Cesar Valentino on Saturday, June 20 at 5pm. Cesar will teach participants the fundamentals of vogue dancing, complete with hand movements, popping, dipping, and spinning. No registration is required for this special open class.
The NYC Dance Week classes are the perfect way to add some spice to your exercise routine. Free offerings include everything from Capoeira to Masala Bhangra to the new Kukuwa African Dance Workout – a cardio journey through Africa – so regardless of your workout style, there is sure to be something for you. The complete list of free classes is here. The NYC Dance Week pass (downloadable here) MUST be presented for all FREE classes.
*New students may take one free class; all subsequent classes require payment. Current students will receive a free class with purchase of a 10-class card during this period.
In addition to classes at The Ailey Extension, New Yorkers have the opportunity to be inspired by Ailey’s extraordinary dancers during NYC Dance Week at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Lincoln Center engagement (through June 21). Highlights include:
The June 17 Company premiere of Artistic Director Robert Battle’s No Longer Silent, which brings to life a score by Nazi-banned composer Erwin Schulhoff, who perished in a concentration camp in 1942. This is presented in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald, marking the end of the Holocaust. (Performance Dates: June 17, June 20 evening, June 21 evening)
A new production of the sensual A Case of You duet by Judith Jamison, performed to Diana Krall’s version of Joni Mitchell’s song by the same title. (Performance Dates: June 17, June 20 evening)
Farewell performances of Kirven Douthit-Boyd and Antonio Douthit-Boyd, who have become well-known to audiences for their standout performances since joining the Company in 2004, and who married in 2013. The celebrated Alicia Graf Mack will return to the stage to make her final appearance with the Company at Lincoln Center, in the iconic umbrella woman role in the “Wade in the Water” section at the heart of Alvin Ailey’s American masterpiece Revelations. All three dancers will be prominently featured in the performances on June 16, 18, and 21 (evening).
Free Class Schedule (new students may select one):
Thursday, June 18
6-7:30pm Beginner Ballet with Dawn Hillen
7:30-9pm Adv Beg Contemporary with Christopher Jackson
7:30-9pm Groovefit Bellydance with Jannellle Cortes
Friday, June 19
10-11:30am Adv Beg Ballet with Peter Brandenhoff
6:30-8:00pm Contemporary Latin Jazz Fusion with Sekou Mc Miller
6:30-7:30pm SharQui Bellydance with Sharon Zaslaw
7:30-9pm Absolute Ballet with Peter Brandenhoff
Saturday, June 20
9:30-10:30am Danzatone with Jose Ozuna
11am-12pm Intro to Ballet with Dawn Hillen
1:30-3pm Contemporary with Dionna Pridgeon
4:30-6pm Beginner Street Jazz with Keith Alexander
Sunday, June 21
1:30-3pm Beginner Hip Hop with Robin Dunn
3-4:30pm Beginner Horton with Solomon Dumas
3-4:30pm Modern Afro Cuban with Noibis Licea
Monday, June 22
7-8:30pm Beg Contemporary Jazz Riccardo Battaglia
7-8:30pm Beginner Hip Hop with TweetBoogie
7:30-9pm Adv Beginner Ballet with Peter Brandenhoff
8-9pm Masala Bhangra with Sarina Jain
Tuesday, June 23
6-7:30pm Tap: Sound Fundamentals with Marshall Davis Jr
6-7:30pm Beg Salsa with Baila Society
6:30-8pm Contemporary Latin Jazz Fusion with Sekou Mc Miller
7:30-9pm Adv Beg Theater Dance with Vic Dimonda
Wednesday, June 24
6:30-8pm Kukuwa African Dance Workout
6:30-8pm Adv Beginner Jazz with Jeffrey Bynum
7-8:30pm Beg Horton with Michael Snipe
7:30-9pm Adv Beginner Ballet with Bradley Shelver
Thursday, June 25
7:30-9pm Int Theater Dance with Vic Dimonda
8-9:30pm House Dance with Eddie Stockton
8-9:45pm Beginner Capoeira with Tiba
Friday, June 26
6:30-7:30pm Zumba with Melissa Carias
6:30-8pm SharQui Bellydance with Sharon Zaslaw
7:30-9pm Open Capoeira with Tiba
7:30-8:45pm Power Ashtanga Yoga with Irini Res
Saturday, June 27
1-2:30pm Street Jazz with Keith Alexander
5-6:30pm All Styles Vogue with Cesar Valentino
6-7pm Zumba Fitness with Karen Arceneaux
About NYC Dance Week:
Now in its fourth year, New York City Dance Week collaborates with noted studios in New York City to celebrating the joy and diversity of dance with an exhilarating 10-day festival of FREE dance, fitness and wellness classes. The festival engages the community and families to experience dance, encouraging them to live active, healthy lifestyles. The organization moves beyond traditional dance forms to teach participants how all dance genres benefit mind, body and spirit. The event is held in June at a variety of venues throughout New York City and serves thousands.
About The Ailey Extension:
Since its inception in 2005, The Ailey Extension has fulfilled Mr. Ailey’s life-long commitment of bringing dance to everyone by offering “real classes for real people.” The Ailey Extension offers of over 80 classes per week in more than 25 different dance and fitness techniques such as Horton, Ballet, Masala Bhangra, West African, Samba, Jazz, Zumba, House and Hip Hop. All levels are welcome, including beginners! Over 86,000 people have taken classes at Ailey’s home, New York’s largest building dedicated to dance, where dancers of all levels and walks of life can learn and be inspired – body, mind, and spirit!
[Photo by Kyle Froman]
