Ailey American Dance

Maryland Public Television has two hours of impressive Alvin Ailey material starting at 9 tonight on Channels 22 and 67.The centerpiece of the programming, which will be hosted by Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-7, is a "Great Performances" production, "The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Steps Ahead."The production showcases Ailey's salute to saxophonist Charlie Parker, "For Bird -- With Love." As impressive as the music and movement is, it is the narrative structure, which treats Parker as a hero on the classic hero-quest of mythology, that makes the work seem so large and shimmering.

Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck, 98, a performer and transcriber of dances by Isadora Duncan and an influential teacher, died April 23 in Blue Bell, Pa. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Ms. Nahumck came to the United States as a child and grew up in Philadelphia, where she established the Children's Dance Theater in 1944. Later known as the Philadelphia Dance Academy, it became part of the University of the Arts. Her students included Judith Jamison, now the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Naohiro Amaya, 68, the vice trade minister who introduced Japan's voluntary controls on automobile exports to solve disputes with the United States in 1979, died of lung cancer Tuesday in Tokyo.Walter Raines, 54, artistic director of the Dance Theater of Harlem's school and a charter member of the company, died Sunday in New York of an AIDS-related illness. He danced with the Pennsylvania and Stuttgart ballets before joining the new Dance Theater of Harlem in 1969. After he stopped dancing, he joined the faculty of the City University of New York and served as chairman of the ballet department of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.

THREE YEARS AGO, DANCE Magazine named Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines one of "25 to Watch." At the time, Sayyed Gaines was a principal dancer with New York's Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the magazine praised her "fierce dramatic sense [that] can take you to the lowest abyss or to the heights of ecstasy." These days, audiences are watching Sayyed Gaines on Broadway in The Color Purple. And though the reviews don't single her out, well, that's to be expected. In making her Broadway debut, she sacrificed being an Alvin Ailey star to dance in the chorus of a musical.

Thirty city school children will get a broad introduction to dance as well as a chance to develop their social skills during a two-week Alvin Ailey Mini-Camp that begins today at Morgan State University.The kids, ages 11-13, were selected from 10 city middle schools and Project Raise -- a mentoring program for disadvantaged youth -- and represent a cross-section of backgrounds, according to the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Foundation of Maryland. The foundation is sponsoring the camp as part of the Maryland residency by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre.

The Columbia Festival of the Arts' 11-day run played to large crowdsand overwhelming audience response, festival organizers said."Generally, it was as successful as last year," said Lynne Nemeth, managing director of the festival. "The audiences were as enthusiastic, ifnot more so."Although the statistics haven't been tabulated, organizers estimate that the festival brought in around $100,000. More than 30,000 people attended, with one-third coming from the Baltimore and Washingtonareas.Organizers have been working since December on arrangements for next summer's festival.

Nadia Chilkovsky Nahumck, 98, a performer and transcriber of dances by Isadora Duncan and an influential teacher, died April 23 in Blue Bell, Pa. Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Ms. Nahumck came to the United States as a child and grew up in Philadelphia, where she established the Children's Dance Theater in 1944. Later known as the Philadelphia Dance Academy, it became part of the University of the Arts. Her students included Judith Jamison, now the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Dance premiere by Alvin Ailey groupThe world premiere of Donald Byrd's "A Dance at the Gym" and three performances of the renowned signature piece "Revelations" will highlight the appearances of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre Thursday through next Sunday.Tickets to Thursday's 7:30 p.m. opening night celebration to benefit the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Foundation of Maryland, which sponsors the company's state-wide residency, are $250 and $100. The former includes a pre- and post-performance reception; the latter includes only a post-performance reception.

Last summer, Roxanne Listy watched in amazement as Renee Robinson and Desmond Richardson of the Alvin Ailey dance company moved their bodies across the stage at the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival in Lee, Mass.This summer the 17-year-old Annapolis girl will be working with the two famous dancers at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company in New York City. The group is one of America's foremost contemporary dance companies.Roxanne, a recent graduate of Annapolis Senior High School, will spend two years with the Ailey Certificate Program, taking 15 to 18 classes a week in modern dance, jazz, dance history and ballet.

Last night's rotten weather did little to dampen the spirits of the celebrity-sprinkled audience that cheered the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as it opened a four-night engagement at the Mechanic Theatre.The three works presented by the popular company were prefaced with a ceremony honoring the troupe's artistic director, dance legend Judith Jamison.Opening night's program included a revival, "District Storyville," by Donald McKayle; a world premiere, "Dance at the Gym," by Donald Byrd; and the company's signature work, "Revelations."

Members of Congress are often elected after years serving in state legislatures, major league ballplayers are fostered on farm teams, and, in the competitive world of professional dance, the major companies cull from a second string. Tomorrow and Saturday, Ailey II, one of the best known of the dance feeder companies, will perform in Maryland. Tomorrow night the group dances at a sold-out performance at the Johns Hopkins University. On Saturday dancers will present two performances at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown.

Naohiro Amaya, 68, the vice trade minister who introduced Japan's voluntary controls on automobile exports to solve disputes with the United States in 1979, died of lung cancer Tuesday in Tokyo.Walter Raines, 54, artistic director of the Dance Theater of Harlem's school and a charter member of the company, died Sunday in New York of an AIDS-related illness. He danced with the Pennsylvania and Stuttgart ballets before joining the new Dance Theater of Harlem in 1969. After he stopped dancing, he joined the faculty of the City University of New York and served as chairman of the ballet department of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center.

Last summer, Roxanne Listy watched in amazement as Renee Robinson and Desmond Richardson of the Alvin Ailey dance company moved their bodies across the stage at the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival in Lee, Mass.This summer the 17-year-old Annapolis girl will be working with the two famous dancers at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Company in New York City. The group is one of America's foremost contemporary dance companies.Roxanne, a recent graduate of Annapolis Senior High School, will spend two years with the Ailey Certificate Program, taking 15 to 18 classes a week in modern dance, jazz, dance history and ballet.

Dance on the EdgeWhat: Donald Byrd/The GroupWhen: Today and Saturday at 8 p.m.Where: Stephens Hall Theatre, Towson State University, 7900 York RoadTickets: $11-$15Call: (410) 830-3369 Donald Byrd's new dance is provocatively titled "Bristle," but in a recent telephone interview the New York-based choreographer's demeanor was smooth and easy as he explained how a former Tufts University theater major made the switch to dance."My drama coach always said I was a mover." Mr. Byrd says. "Movement is language, and language is often shaped."

Greensboro, N.C. -- The arms, Judith Jamison tells the dancers during rehearsal, should go "whoosh." It's a subtle movement, not easily defined in the vocabulary of words. But indeed, when the dancers get it right, it's as if a current of air has lifted all their arms at exactly the same moment, and they look like a flock of birds rising over the horizon.It's a common motif in the repertory of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater -- it turns up in two of the four pieces in this particular evening's show alone -- and the wind beneath those wings, it can be argued, is Judith Jamison.

Last night's rotten weather did little to dampen the spirits of the celebrity-sprinkled audience that cheered the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as it opened a four-night engagement at the Mechanic Theatre.The three works presented by the popular company were prefaced with a ceremony honoring the troupe's artistic director, dance legend Judith Jamison.Opening night's program included a revival, "District Storyville," by Donald McKayle; a world premiere, "Dance at the Gym," by Donald Byrd; and the company's signature work, "Revelations."

Dance on the EdgeWhat: Donald Byrd/The GroupWhen: Today and Saturday at 8 p.m.Where: Stephens Hall Theatre, Towson State University, 7900 York RoadTickets: $11-$15Call: (410) 830-3369 Donald Byrd's new dance is provocatively titled "Bristle," but in a recent telephone interview the New York-based choreographer's demeanor was smooth and easy as he explained how a former Tufts University theater major made the switch to dance."My drama coach always said I was a mover." Mr. Byrd says. "Movement is language, and language is often shaped."

Members of Congress are often elected after years serving in state legislatures, major league ballplayers are fostered on farm teams, and, in the competitive world of professional dance, the major companies cull from a second string. Tomorrow and Saturday, Ailey II, one of the best known of the dance feeder companies, will perform in Maryland. Tomorrow night the group dances at a sold-out performance at the Johns Hopkins University. On Saturday dancers will present two performances at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at the Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown.

Dance premiere by Alvin Ailey groupThe world premiere of Donald Byrd's "A Dance at the Gym" and three performances of the renowned signature piece "Revelations" will highlight the appearances of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre Thursday through next Sunday.Tickets to Thursday's 7:30 p.m. opening night celebration to benefit the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre Foundation of Maryland, which sponsors the company's state-wide residency, are $250 and $100. The former includes a pre- and post-performance reception; the latter includes only a post-performance reception.

The date of a benefit concert by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre was incorrect in Laura Charles' column Sunday. The event takes place Feb. 13.The Sun regrets the error.PARTY TIME!: OK, so maybe the state of the economy has put a dent in your pocketbook. Is that any reason to sit home alone and brood? Don't fret if you can't afford to buy a new dress for the ball. Do what we do. Recycle!Trade your tired threads for different ones from friends and relatives -- too bad we're not buddies with Ivana Trump-- and save your money to buy a ticket to help out one of your favorite charities.