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On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 20th Annual Washington, D.C. Opening Night Gala Benefit kicks off the opening of the renowned Company’s engagement at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Following the 7pm opening program on the Opera House Stage – featuring Rennie Harris’ powerful Lazarus and Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations – Artistic Director Robert Battle will lead dinner and dancing on the Terrace Level of the Kennedy Center in celebration of Ailey’s 60th Anniversary.
Proceeds from the annual benefit will support Ailey’s Washington, D.C. programs, including the creation of new works, Arts in Education activities, and scholarships for talented young dance students in the Washington area to attend The Ailey School in New York City.
The 2019 20th Annual Opening Night Gala Benefit Co-Chairs include Lyndon K. Boozer, Sela Thompson Collins, DeDe Lea, Ruth and Arne Sorenson, and Yelberton R. Watkins. Gala Vice Chairs are Joyce Brayboy, Larry Duncan III, Kim Sheftall Humphries, Anthony A. Lewis, Tanya Leah Lombard, Vanessa Reed, Nicole Venable, and Katharine Weymouth. The evening is made possible by a generous grant from Gala Sponsor Southern Company and the Corporate Chair is Southern Company President & CEO, Thomas A. Fanning. The post-performance party is produced by Events by André Wells.
The Company marks its annual Washington, D.C. engagement from February 5-10, 2019 with seven performances spotlighting a plethora of dynamic works including: premieres of Rennie Harris’ Lazarus, Ronald K. Brown’s The Call, and Wayne McGregor’s Kairos, a new production of Robert Battle’s Juba, and the Timeless Ailey program, comprised of rarely seen excerpts by the Company’s founder culminating with Revelations. For more information on Ailey’s performances at the Kennedy Center, click here. For more information on the Company’s North American tour and the organizations training and education programs, visit www.alvinailey.org.
