Winner of the William M. Jones Award at the 2021 Popular Culture Association Conference

Abstract

An array of 22 dancers stride cheerfully in unison across the proscenium stage toward a jam-packed audience, often as richly diverse as the dancers themselves. Audience members take to their feet, singing, clapping, dancing in the aisle, an experience--that by choreographer's intention--recalls the celebratory abandon of a Black church revival. The magnetism of Ailey's Revelations has captivated audiences worldwide for over six decades. Through extensive domestic and international touring by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Revelations has appeared on six continents since its premiere. Revelations (1960) is the most performed and most viewed choreographic work of the twentieth century. During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, a full-length recording of Revelations streamed on YouTube for over a year, providing hundreds of thousands of viewers free access to the piece from their computer screens.