Reviving a Small Jewel
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Alvin Ailey choreographed his last solo, “Witness,” in 1986, three years before he died. The dance’s inspiration was Jessye Norman’s rendition of “My Soul Is a Witness for My Lord.” It took the form of an active, searching prayer. The lone female dancer juxtaposes her unexpected phrasings and startling rhythms against the soprano’s melody, her earthbound exertions a counterpoint to the steadier, heavenly music.
After the 58-year-old Ailey died in 1989, “Witness” was performed as a tribute to him for one season. His company didn’t touch the solo again until Wednesday night at City Center, when the veteran company member Renee Robinson breathed new life into “Witness.”
The curtain rises on a dark stage lit with hundreds of candles stacked on risers. The candles are reflected in the mirror-like surface at the stage’s edge, amplifying their beauty.At the edge of this pool of light stands Ms. Robinson, resplendent in a long white dress, listening to that pure soprano voice.
Her arms catch the eye first – quick, almost desperate. Sometimes they push pockets of air away from her, and sometimes they circle like the arms of a swimmer.
Then the focus goes to the benches – three of them, dark and long. Ms. Robinson drops to a bench and abruptly throws open her knees, stretching that flowing white skirt between them.The bench and the gorgeous fabric superficially echo Martha Graham, but the feeling here is pure Ailey – his ardent, striving spirit.No matter how smooth and eloquent the dancer’s motions, it clearly costs her to make them; Ailey shows us that she is always gutting it out.
At one point, the precariously balanced dancer stretches a leg out in the air, articulating it in effort-filled stabs. Suddenly she reaches behind her and puts a splayed hand onto the bench. This unexpected move, and its contrast with the soprano’s effortless climb, is but one example of the sustained tension that fuels “Witness.” It is the tension between the disembodied voice and the silent dancer. The voice is certain,but the body is seeking.
Ailey’s choreography juxtaposes the soloist against the movement – she refuses then accepts its rhythms, pausing on benches at unpredictable moments. When the dancer whips through her quick unspooling turns, the arms are deliberately asymmetrical, defying the steadiness of the sung verse.
“Witness” is a small jewel. Its economy is wonderful – nothing wasted, nothing superfluous.And it is splendidly danced by the physically powerful Ms. Robinson, who joined the company in 1981 and was in the studios while “Witness” was being created. Ms. Robinson gives herself over to Ailey’s last solo with moving humility. She finds both the dance’s tranquil soul and its violent passions.
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It’s easy to see why the company has revived “Witness,” and I was grateful for the chance to see two other small gems this season: Robert Battle’s rousing “Juba” from 2003, and Elisa Monte’s sensual, perfectly sculpted 1981 duet, “Treading.” But I’m not sure why the company revisited the disjointed “Love Stories,” which debuted just last year.
The fact that “Love Stories” is Ailey Lite is apparent from its stagy first section (choreographed by Judith Jamison), in which members of the company “warm up” in a costume designer’s idea of rehearsal clothes. To the piece’s credit, Rennie Harris’s justly celebrated second section shows how good hip-hop can look on Ailey-trained dancers, especially standouts Abdur-Rahim Jackson and Dwana Adiaha Smallwood. But Mr. Battle’s final section is as tepid as the opener – it’s hard to think of a less exciting way to use Stevie Wonder’s music than to have dancers stand around during the harmonica solo from “Fingertips.” For a company chronically in need of good new repertory, recycling “Love Stories” seems a self-defeating choice.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s season runs until January 1 at City Center (131 W. 55th Street, between Sixth and Seventh Avenues, 212-581-1212).