I’ve been here before. At the age of 25–which is 50 in dancer years–Ailey isn’t new to me anymore. It wasn’t until I sat down to write this review that I realized I reviewed one of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at this exact time last year. This year, I am joined by my partner, someone who is quite bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when it comes to all things dance. Taking a page from her book, I decided to come into this performance with somewhat fresh eyes. 

Although the entire audience knew what was coming, we erupt with thunderous applause at the sight of the dancers’ flesh-toned costumes, eyes beaming upwards at the warm spotlight hovering above them as “I’ve been ‘buked, I’ve been scorned…” billows through the theater. The dancers' arms swell out and curve downward; the closer to the front of the stage they are, the further down they sink. The weight of their movement, and the control with which they execute it, are palpable.