This Film Captures the Emotional Core of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre [Video]

Dancer turned director Ezra Hurwitz collaborates with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, featuring movement as museum pieces against the Whitney Museum of American Art’s striking architecture for short film Echoes of Ailey. Commissioned to celebrate Edges of Ailey, the film accompanies the first large-scale exhibition on the life and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey, currently on view at the Whitney.

Animating iconic images from Alvin Ailey’s 20th-century repertory, the film expands on the exhibition by constructing a visual narrative around his storytelling and influences. Set to Radiohead’s ‘Everything In Its Right Place’, dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Ailey II, and The Ailey School capture the emotional core of the company’s history – physically situating Ailey’s masterworks amongst the Whitney’s collection.

“As a child, my grandmother took me to Ailey’s Revelations once a year,” said Ezra. “No matter how often I saw it, …