Revelations Alvin Ailey Analysis

Dance Assignment: Revelations

Alvin Ailey stated, ‘The greatest works are always personal, and this was personal’ on Revelations. I think Ailey’s work was defiantly personal and was influenced a lot by his youth and childhood. This work could also be influenced by his training, religion and background.

Revelations was deeply influenced by Ailey’s youth and religion. He was born in Texas into a very religious family. A lot of his inspiration came from the gospel churches from home and songs he would hear as a child. Ailey stated he remembered hearing the songs played at the Black Church Services and the songs that they played in the school dance hall. All of the songs used in Revelations have some connection to God, they are either speaking to God, pleading for help, or telling him how lonely they are, or speaking about baptism or warning people to not sin. An example of this is in section one, the song used, ‘Pilgrim of Sorrow’s’ lyrics are :
‘Lord, I’m poor pilgrim
Ailey started studying the style of modern dance with Lester Horton in 1949. Lester Horton’s technique involved a lot of flat backs and mainly focused on upper body movements. Although, his technique did feature Afro-Caribbean style which included a lot of hip circling movements. In Revelations a lot of this training is clearly shown in Part One of Revelations ‘Pilgrim of Sorrow.’ In this piece a lot of Horton’s technique is featured by focusing on upper body movements such as high releases, upper body movements and contractions. Ailey also got the chance to study dance with Martha Graham, around 5 years before Revelations was first produced. Her style features a lot of jagged movements and sharp lines. This is also clearly shown in Part 1 of revelations by using sharp lines and outstretched arms. Part 1 of revelations doesn't have any long and fluid movements which Martha Graham strived