Junior company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to perform in Joplin

(From Connect2Culture)

The junior company of the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, known as Ailey II, will perform Tuesday, October 29, 2019, 7:30 p.m. at Joplin High School Performing Arts Center (2104 Indiana Avenue, Joplin, MO 64804). This will be the first performance in Connect2Culture’s 2019-2020 Curtains Up Series.

For forty-five years, Ailey II has merged the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers.

Started in 1974 as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, Ailey II embodies Alvin Ailey’s pioneering mission to establish an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training and community programs for all people. 

Mr. Ailey personally selected the veteran dancer Sylvia Waters to lead this junior company, and as its Artistic Director for 38 years, she developed Ailey II into one of America’s most popular dance companies. In June 2012, Ms. Waters retired and named her longtime associate Troy Powell as the new Artistic Director. 

With Mr. Powell at the helm, Ailey II continues to thrive as he brings a fresh dimension to this beloved company.

The critically-acclaimed Ailey II has a distinctive repertory that has included works by dance masters Alvin Ailey, Talley Beatty, Donald Byrd, Ulysses Dove, George W. Faison, Lar Lubovitch, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Robert Battle and Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison. The company has also performed innovative works by rising choreographers such as Jae Man Joo, Juel D. Lane, and Renee I. McDonald. Touring throughout the United States and abroad, Ailey II will reach dozens of cities during its 2019-2020 tour.