Classics from almost seven decades of Alvin Ailey's repertoire, from Cry to Revelations, the most widely seen modern dance work in the world, filled Sadler's Wells in September.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater gave Legacy, the second of its two September bills, at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in Angel from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 September 2026. It gathered classics from almost seven decades of repertoire.
Revelations, made in 1960, sets spirituals and gospel to what Ailey called the blood memories of his Texas childhood. Performed continuously since its premiere, it is the most widely seen modern dance work in the world.
Cry, a solo, was Ailey’s birthday present to his mother in 1971, dedicated to all Black women everywhere, especially our mothers. A Song for You, from his Love Songs, is its male counterpart, a solo on love and longing.
Night Creature sets Ailey’s choreography to Duke Ellington’s music. Grace, by Ronald K. Brown, follows a company of individuals on a journey to the promised land.
Ailey died in 1989 at 48, and the company kept his name and repertoire. Since 2011 it has been directed by Robert Battle and then Alicia Graf Mack, both of whom danced in it.
Legacy ran against New Works on the same four nights. Night Creature and Cry were given in excerpt, and the evening closed on Revelations.