Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater New York City Center, NY November 29-December 31, 2006 Reviewed by Susan Yung

This year's premieres challenged both dancers and audiences and pointed toward healthy artistic growth. The company premiere of Twyla Tharp's dazzling The Golden Section tested the remarkable physical skills of this well-rounded troupe. Karole Armitage created a new work, Gamelan Gardens, which also pushed the dancers' technical comfort zone. These dances by iconoclastic contemporary choreographers stretched familiar boundaries for loyal Ailey fans, while company alumnus Uri Sands' Existence Without Form had a more recognizable feel, evoking Alley's own balletic modern style.

The Golden Section (1983) is a relic of Tharp's ambitious dance/musical The Catherine Wheel. Tharp's style demands an absurdly far-ranging skill set--exacting, fast ballet; loose-hipped jazz; vaudeville; and a dash of gymnastics, all stirred together with a jaunty sense of humor. What better company than Alley to handle such demands? The dancers gave this terpsichorean melange a honed athleticism that seasoned as exhaustion set in, softening edges and jitters. Jamar Roberts moved delicately and quickly, and Tina Monica Williams displayed vivacious fearlessness.

Armitage danced with Merce Cunningham for just five years, but Cunningham's presence was palpable in Gamelan Gardens. There was no discernable underlying narrative, but at times the 12 dancers evoked an underwater reef of swaying sea grass or a flock of birds shifting directions with a gust of wind. The tone was shimmering, dreamy, and hypnotic. Glenn Allen Sims and Courtney Brene Corbin, the emotional center of the dance, pushed, pulled, and supported one another until the facsimile of a life together could be felt. The choreography, to Lou Harrison's score, was complex enough musically and stylistically to challenge both performers and viewers without being showboaty.

In Existence Without Form, Sands (now director of TU Dance in Minnesota) picked up where Alley left off, employing a lyrical modern vocabulary set within a clear (albeit somewhat simplistic) structure. As each of seven standing dancers collapsed sideways and began sculpting flowing shapes to the cascading piano arpeggios composed by Christian Matjias, one (Wendy White Sasser) remained frozen. In an act of grace, Clifton Brown tended to her, lifting her off the ground, helping her on the first steps of a journey. Hope Boykin and Alicia Graf--polar-opposite body types--gamboled like little girls, delighting in simple companionship and physical abandon.

The season offered several revivals. Alley's Pas de Duke (1976), originally a showcase for Judith Jamison and Mikhail Baryshnikov, was created as a visual gag, juxtaposing the dancers' vast differences. In the more conventionally cast revival, the lanky Clifton Brown was paired with compact dynamo Asha Thomas. Both possess great charisma, but the key to this piece is rudimentary--the walk, or rather, the strut. Entrances and exits were made with considerable attitude and hip thrusting, and a great deal of fun. The difficult chains of pirouettes and ballet hijinks, handled expediently by Brown, were the frosting on a sweet and sassy cake.

In The River (1970), Ailey paid homage to the history of popular dance. His jazz-inflected modern choreography is dotted with high-stepping can-cans, Busby Berkeley--like formations, even the synchronized precision of Swan Lake's cygnets. Sections of the work's eight parts highlighted Graf's breathtakingly arched feet and fluid extensions. Duke Ellington's bright music, which ranged from swingy to symphonic, at times overpowered the dance.

John Butler created Portrait of Billie (1959) on Carmen deLavallade, who restaged it this season with associate artistic director Masazumi Chaya. This unflinching characterization of Billie Holiday showcased Corbin, who danced the flirtations and decrepitude (including a regrettably literal drug stupor) with equal commitment. In a company full of strong, accomplished women, Corbin established herself as a bold physical and dramatic presence this season.

Other standouts included calm-yet-smoldering Glenn Allen Sims, a satin-smooth perfectionist who partnered Corbin as Billie and in other works. Matthew Rushing stood out for his precision, speed, and affability; Brown showed a sense of maturing into his role as a company standard bearer; and Linda Celeste Sims radiated star power and finesse. Renee Robinson, celebrating an incredible 25th year of performance with the company, imbued Alvin Ailey's Witness with a profound sense of yearning and renewed urgency. See www.alvinailey.org.