Former Artistic Director Robert Battle’s first creation for Ailey is a modern day Rite of Spring with an abstract twist—an electrifying thrill ride through ritual and folk tradition. Battle’s uninhibited movement melds seamlessly with an original score for string quartet and percussion by his frequent collaborator John Mackey.
PRESS COVERAGE
''Juba, Robert Battle's first work for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, is frenetic and electrifying, a terse, powerful explosion of transformative energy. On the surface, nothing seemed to be happening as three men and a woman jumped up and down virtually nonstop while regrouping into various patterns. Yet by the end, an infernal communal round had found spiritual release through some sort of centrifugal force. Filled with fabulously high-octane stamina by the Ailey dancers, Juba should not be mistaken for a minimalist piece. Mr. Battle has hit upon an abstract signature style that is highly dramatic. Everything seems to be sustained in tone, including John Mackey's commissioned and apt, jagged score for electronic string quartet and percussion. But Mr. Battle, and this is his originality, matches this apparent evenness of tone with a sense of climax. The steps are similar and repeated but there is also mounting energy. It is an ingenious paradox, found also in old ecstatic dances." –Anna Kisselgoff, The New York Times, 12/13/2003
This new production of Juba is made possible with major support from Michele & Timothy Barakett.
Generous support is also provided by The Fred Eychaner New Works Endowment Fund.
The commissioning of this work was originally made possible, in part, by public funds from the New York State Council for the Arts, a State agency.
K. Segawa, J. Terry, B. Pereyra-Alem, and M. McBride in Juba, photo by Paul Kolnik
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S. Roberts, J. Harris, S. Dumas, and J. Bozeman in Juba, photo by Paul Kolnik
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J. Harris, J. Bozeman, S. Roberts, and S. Dumas in Juba, photo by Paul Kolnik
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J. Terry, B. Pereyra-Alem, K. Segawa, and M. McBride in Juba, photo by Paul Kolnik