Alvin Ailey Analysis

Saint Augustine, who had a great influence on western philosophy and Christianity, once said, "Faith is to believe what you don't see; the reward of faith is to see what you believe." This can explain the feeling we get after doing something charitable for someone else or as we are worshiping. Some pieces of artwork provoke feelings such as faith. One could take Saint Augustine's quote like it has something to do with a religious faith as well as artwork, such as dance. The reward of this faith, in accordance to the quote, is to see faith as expressed by artists around the world. Dancers worship a higher power or convey actions and ideas by means of their specific faith. These pieces, we see, and they help us believe and understand our faith,
He also acted and danced in various productions. He created the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in 1958 where he combined ballet, jazz, modern, and African dance techniques. He choreographed Revelations in 1960. It is considered his signature work and is the most popular critically acclaimed work. Ailey wrote Revelations as a representation of the faith of African Americans in the 1960’s, set to spirituals and blues music (Dunning, 1996). The piece clearly shows expression of faith and demonstrates just how well dance can convey a set of beliefs or ideals. The topics in the piece include costumes, lighting and music tailored to each dance in order to lead viewers to the meaning of faith. This is extremely prevalent in each three of the
Southern Baptist was the largest denomination in America in the late twentieth century. Most Southern Baptist (including African American Southern Baptists) were divinely inspired by the Bible and accepted that sins, without being repented, lead to an eternal hell (Wills, 1997). The tight, contradicting movements of the professionals dancing with the bright, red, fire background to “Sinner Man” create an anxious, uncomfortable thought and seem somewhat disciplinary and seem to lead to the Baptist belief of “eternal hell”. The Christian faith depicts sin as an immoral act; in the Christian Bible, Romans 3:23, states that “for all who have sinned, fall short of the glory of God.” The movements of the dancers in “Sinner Man” show this part of the faith. The other part, the “Yellow” section depicts an African American Baptist scene. This works, to me, as a sneak peek into the African American churches of the 60’s. The fans the women use depict them socializing and the men come and continue the socializing aspect next to their significant other. The audience gets a feel for how the African American faith is when they gather