A Tribute to Alvin Ailey(1990)

Play(fr)

A dance music theatre piece that evokes the world of childhood and its careless pleasures. But beyond pure entertainment, this performance contemplates the meaning and the importance of play when we become adults. World stage premiere dec 7 2017, Paris.

An Evening with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater(en)

Dazzling, brash and dynamic, yet equally graceful and poetic. DIVINING was Judith Jamison's first major work as a choreographer for Ailey, evoking a strong feeling for African tribal ritual, is set to hauntingly rhythmic drum music. REVELATIONS, often describes as the company's signature tune, has become an American classic. It expresses Ailey's intense feelings for his roots, with Ailey's vivid "blood memories" of the blues, spirituals, gospel music, ragtime and folk songs as well as the hard life of the Southern black during the Depression. Set to Modern Jazz, THE STUCK-UP takes place in modern-day Harlem, about the cruel reality of urban street life as a young man is destroyed by drugs. CRY, choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1971 for Judith Jamison, is one of his most famous pieces. Created as a birthday present for his mother, it is Ailey's tribute to black women and inspires moving emotions with its portrayal of struggle, anger and most importantly, its feeling of celebration.

The Written Face(de)

In Japanese theater, women's roles are traditionally played by men. The man playing the woman's role, the Onnagata, does not imitate the woman, as in the West, but tries to capture her significance. He need not stick close to his model, but draws far more from his own identity - a shift of value takes place, which is nonetheless not a step beyond. THE WRITTEN FACE is an attempt to offer an insight into the Japanese Kabuki star Tamasaburo Bando, one of the last defenders of this ancient and disappearing performing tradition.

Casting a Light on the Dance of Darkness(en)

“Butoh,” literally “dance of darkness,” is an avant-garde form of dance from Japan that few know about, and even fewer practice. As its only practitioner in Singapore, Xue tells us how she fell in love with this obscure, yet liberating, art form.

Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back(en)

Maurice Hines, a charming, gay African-American entertainer navigates the complications of show business while grieving the loss of his more famous, often estranged younger brother, tap dance legend Gregory Hines.

A Christmas Carol(en)

The radical new take on Dickens’ classic seeks both to exhume the original story’s gritty commentary on social inequality and the corrupting influence of greed, and to breathe new life into the lyricism of the original text by setting its scenes to extraordinary tableaux of modern dance.

Three Dances(sv)

About two key pioneers of Swedish dance in the 1900s: Birgit Åkesson and Birgit Cullberg. Both were born in 1908 and became choreographers who made a big impression in the international dance history. Birgit Åkesson, in the serious "Fertility" directed by Alf Sjoberg, debuted in 1934 in Paris. She was co-designed the European avant-garde modern dance language, and created in the 1950s and 1960s, legendary works for the Stockholm Opera together with others including composer Karl-Birger Blomdahl and Erik Lindegren as librettist. Birgit Cullberg gives a much more relaxed and humorous impressions in "Antonius & Cleopatra", directed by Gerd Osten. Cullberg got her big break as a choreographer a few years in "Miss Julie" in 1950. After spending some time abroad Birgit Cullberg returned to Sweden and formed in 1967 the Cullberg Ballet, which she led until 1985. Topsy Håkansson, who performs the role as the gypsy.

Mudra-Afrique(en)

Mudra Afrique, founded in 1977 in Dakar by Léopold Sédar Senghor and Maurice Béjart, was an important dance school that mixed traditional African dance with modern styles. Germaine Acogny, a skilled teacher, along with dancer, actress Irène Tassembédo and musician Doudou Rose Ndiaye, were key figures in the school. Their work helped Mudra Afrique leave a strong mark on African contemporary dance and music.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan: Moon Water(en)

The Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan performs their elegant Tai Chi-based dances to the music of J.S. Bach. Choreography by Lin Hwai-Min. This dance film examines the correlation between essence and appearance, effort and effortlessness, man and woman , all explored using water, mirror, light and reflections.

Tenderly Crunch(ko)

All the cookies that don't sell are banished into the dark cellar. Today's deportee came out into the world with a bang but wasn't bought by anyone, so it became a free goodie with the purchase of another item. The Melon Ball is distraught at the thought of no one buying it but Choco Ball and Choco Digest feel attracted to Melon Ball. In the end, Choco Ball challenges Choco Digest to a battle...

Stevie Wonder: A Night Of Wonder Live in London(en)

Live release that features the amazing genius of Stevie Wonder, presented in an intimate concert setting for the BBC in 1995. By the time of this show, Wonder had already enjoyed an astonishing and visionary career - first as `Little Stevie,' Motown prodigy, then as a musical adventurer in Funk and electronics. A master of both the romantic radio ballad and mature, hard-hitting dance music, Stevie shows the BBC audience every side of his enormous talent. In songs from across his multi-faceted career: `Higher Ground,' `Superstition,' `My Cherie Amour,' `Signed, Sealed, Delivered,' `You Are The Sunshine of My Life' and `I Just Called to Say I Love You,' among others. In this performance, Stevie reminds us of the soulful emotion and musical dexterity that have made him one of the most fascinating artists of our time. Immortal.

Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage(en)

Flawed heroes, sympathetic monsters and haughty professors collide as this hefty poem is rescued from the grasp of 1,000 years of highbrow analysis and transformed into a defiantly raucous musical. Presented by San Francisco's infamous Shotgun Players and New York's infectious Banana Bag & Bodice, this SongPlay is an irreverent dissertation on art versus criticism in blood-soaked Scandinavia.

Sneakerella(en)

When El, an aspiring sneaker designer from Queens, meets Kira King, the fiercely independent daughter of legendary basketball star and sneaker tycoon Darius King, sparks fly as the two bond over their mutual affinity for sneakers. With a little nudge from his best friend and a sprinkle of Fairy Godfather magic, El finds the courage to use his talent to pursue his dream of becoming a ‘legit’ sneaker designer in the industry.

Straight, Place and Show(en)

The Ritz Brothers go to the race track. They raise training end entrance money in a wrestling match and help a young man train the horse of his fiancée.

All the Cats Join In(en)

A hep teen hears a tune on the jukebox at the malt shop and calls his girl; She rounds up a crowd and soon the whole place is jumping.

What Did You Tell God?(es)

Martina and Lupita are two housemaids who steal shoes and clothes from their boss Marcela, trying to impress Lupita's boyfriend. When Marcela founds out about the robbery, she and her friend Marifer go looking for them to retrieve her stuff and bring them to justice. "What did you tell God?" is a comedy that uses Juan Gabriel's songs.

Hohe Tannen(de)

Hold That Co-ed(en)

An egotistical politician believes he can win votes by turning a small college's hapless football squad into a championship team.

There's a Girl in My Heart(en)

A Gay-Nineties musical set in NYC's Bowery and East-Side explores the life of its inhabitants---an Irish policeman and his tap-dancing daughter and music-hall wife; a German professor of music and his singing daughter; and an Italian café-owner, a kindly priest, a struggling young doctor and a saloon-keeper. And a political ward-heeler, Terrence Dowd, who has a deceptive and dishonest plan to sell them all out in order to build a fight arena. But he meets his match in property-owner Claire Adamson.

Anything Goes(en)

On an ocean liner, a nightclub singer tries to help a fellow American romance an English heiress who is being forced to return home to marry a man she doesn't love. The American must avoid his boss who is traveling on the same vessel and disguises himself as a gangster traveling with a minister who is, in fact, a disguised gangster on the lam.