Love Jones for Alvin Ailey: A Personal Love Story (Pt I)

My oldest daughter didn’t know it at the time, but she was about to discover that she was smack dab in the middle of a love affair. For all she knew, she was merely minding her own business being a teenager and doing what teenagers do. 

She and her BFFs were planning to attend a big party that was the talk of Westlake High School and the surrounding Camp Creek area. It wasn’t just any party either; “Everybody” was going. 

My daughter and her friends had been talking on the phone about how much fun the party was going to be. They’d planned out their party outfits and everything.  The party was going to take place on Saturday night and for them, that day wouldn’t come fast enough. Those giggling girls were going to get to find out all the juicy details that parties were made of like who would get kissed, who would dance with the cutest boy, who could dance the best, and who just couldn’t dance at all. 

Poor chile...

By the time Saturday arrived, my daughter had no idea that her very own Mama had been swept off her feet with each Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater commercial.  

She didn’t know that my heart automatically skipped a few beats each time I heard the sound of “Wade in the Water” or saw the motion of waves made with fabrics during clips of Ailey’s signature piece “Revelations.”  

To tell you the truth, my daughter couldn’t help it. The love affair she was in the middle of had started in my childhood long before she had ever been thought of.  How could she have possibly known the magnitude of my excitement when I went on school field trips to see Ailey's mini-performances?  How could I explain the magical nights my mother, sister, brother, and I got all dressed and headed downtown for their entire performances?  

When I became an adult I didn’t stop those evening rendezvous so it's fair to say that my daughter was borne of Ailey. She really liked the group alot but she didn’t yet have the Love Jones.

When someone called to offer me two highly coveted tickets for the Saturday night performance I just knew my dancer would be as thrilled as I was. After all, she’d been groomed at the hand of Mrs. Marvette Spriggs, head of the Spelman College Children’s Dance and Drama Program; She’d received intensive dance instruction from Southwest Arts Center’s Teen Artists’ Academy and she’d become an active dancer and choreographer at her high school.

However, when I came bouncing in with my joyful announcement, my Good News sounded more to her like Black Noise. Since I knew how important the party was to her, I told her she could decide for herself what to do. 

She agonized over the terrible dilemma.  The party … or Alvin Ailey? … Alvin Ailey … or the party? 

She tried to talk herself out of going with me, reasoning that she could always go see the group the next year. The clock was ticking and she knew that I already had one foot out the door. If she was going with me she’d have to break the news to her girlfriends, dress, and travel at the speed of light to catch me at the car. Now what was a girl to do? 

I knew my daughter. I knew that if she were to go with me, she’d fall in love just like I had. Still, I wondered if the party would actually trump Alvin Ailey. My daughter finally made up her mind.

She said YES!

I could tell she was happy with her choice and now we were both excited, smiling like two little schoolgirls with a schoolboy crush. We took off for the venue and immediately fell in line with the rushing of feet as people made mad dashes for the door. 

The performance began and throughout the night, whenever we’d see something especially extraordinary we’d look at each other wide-eyed in the dark as if to say “Did you see that?” Those twirls were not just any twirls, the leaps and bounds were far from predictable. We had to have been the ones that were clapping the hardest, fastest, and loudest from our seats. We took in every step, every turn, every sway as though we never wanted it to end. 

Now imagine this: The group was about to do its next segment. It was something we’d never imagined. They performed an entire ballet suite to the timeless tunes of none other than Earth, Wind, and Fire!  

At its center was a duet that celebrated a deep and everlasting love. The two lovers were supported by a community of dancers that rejoiced in the lovers’ commitment through the songs “That’s The Way of the World,” “September,” “Can’t Hide Love,” and “Shining Star.” Amazing!!!  

So much so that we were still goo-goo eyed as we drifted back to the car. That was when my daughter stopped abruptly and grabbed my arm to bring me to a halt too. She looked at me squarely and said “Mommy, this was so much better than the party.” Now that, coming from a teenager, was the icing. A few years later our love affair with Ailey would only get better …

________________________________________________________________________

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs at The Fabulous Fox Theatre Feb. 16 – 19, 2011.  Don't wait to get tickets.  They go fast!  Call the Box Office now at (404) 881-2000 and give them my name as your Atlanta Ailey Ambassador. You can also visit http://www.alvinailey.org/atlanta for more info.

Follow this blogpost for updates on special promotions / discounts and info and stay tuned for Part II of this love story.