Continuing its multi-year residency at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the legendary dance troupe offers a perfect combination of precision with passion.
By John Lavitt
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 03-29-2026
The return of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion reaffirms why the legendary dance troupe remains one of the most vital forces in American dance. As part of the Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance season at The Music Center, the dance company’s ongoing Southern California residency bridges tradition and innovation.
In forming such a connection, this bridge helps to celebrate a legacy rooted in cultural expression while also venturing into creative territory never before seen in Southern California. In the Los Angeles premieres of The Holy Blues and Embrace, the company presents two distinct yet complementary aspects of its artistic identity: the mythic and the intimate.
Using symbolic imagery and collective memory to transform the stage into a space of ritual and reflection, The Holy Blues is a timeless exploration of myth and universality. Created in collaboration by @ubwdance founder Jawole Willa Jo Zollar and @alvinailey dancers Samantha Figgins and Chalvar Monteiro, The Holy Blues fosters a legacy of movement rooted in history, spirit, and community. As a dancer on the stage, co-choreographer Samantha Figgins demands utter dedication from each participant.
The choreography evokes something ancient and shared, with dancers moving not as isolated individuals but as a unified whole shaped by a common history. Additionally, there is a sense of invocation from the first gesture to the last jump. The dancing is rooted in deep cultural memory, fostering rhythms that perambulate between pain and transcendence.
Ultimately, what emerges from the ensemble is a collective sense of the dance troupe as a living force. Expressing the ongoing struggle between freedom and oppression, the dancers surge, fracture, and recombine. This vitality contributes to the development of a visual language of resilience built through collective experience. Moments of unison carry a near-spiritual intensity, as if the company itself becomes a vessel for something greater than any one performer.
In this way, The Holy Blues channels the enduring artistic mission first envisioned by Alvin Ailey in Revelations — to express the depth of the human spirit through movement rooted in mythic truths that cannot be denied. The work does not tell a linear story of individuals. Instead, it embodies a universality, drawing the audience into a shared emotional landscape that feels both historical and immediately present.
In stark contrast, Embrace, choreographed by Frederick Earl Mosley, shifts the focus from collective identity to personal connection. While The Holy Blues reaches for myth, Embrace turns inward, exploring the delicate, often complex quest for love in the modern world. Structured through a series of duets and ensemble interactions, the piece captures fleeting moments of intimacy—connections made, missed, and sometimes lost.
The choreography is smooth and accessible, rooted in familiar human gestures that make its emotional meaning immediately relatable. There is vulnerability here, but also warmth. Indeed, the audience roots for the success of the relationships. After all, even in a broken world, the desire for connection still exists. The dancers bring a natural comfort to the movement, allowing moments of tenderness and hesitation to unfold without pretense. In such small human interactions, the intimacy of the piece becomes a private moment shared by the audience.
Together, the two pieces create a compelling dialogue. While The Holy Blues explores the origins of shared histories and collective resilience, Embrace explores the deeply personal need to navigate relationships in an increasingly complex and disconnected world. The contrast highlights the breadth of the company’s vision under Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack, who continues to guide the troupe in a way that would make Alvin Ailey smile proudly in heaven.
In this Los Angeles engagement, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater reaffirms its purpose as a cultural institution. Reaching for the mythically huge, yet intimately small truths behind the universal human experience, the company shows how dance can cover so much ground in such an incisive, powerful, and expressive manner.
The season gains extra significance with its dedication to Glorya Kaufman: “The 2025/2026 season is dedicated to the memory of Glorya Kaufman, whose visionary support helped shape the cultural landscape of Los Angeles and ensure that world-class dance remains accessible to all.”
