Alvin Ailey Dance Troupe

The sounds of Alice Coltrane, Billie Holiday, Duke ton and Laura Nyro floated out through the Music Hall last week, but most of the listening audience was straight, white and over thirty.

The occasion was a two-day appearance by the Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theater, a predominantly young, Black modern dance company. Best known for translating American Black culture and music into movement, the company's repertoire pulls from both international and American dance tradition. The twenty-three member dance company, which works out of the City Center of Music and Dance in New York, tours the country once a year, getting sellout crowds and standing ovations at every stop. Since its formation in 1968, the Ailey Dance Theater has won international prizes and was the first American modern dance group to tour Russia.

Friday, November 15 in Detroit, the evening performance started off slow, but picked up on the finale to capture the troop's usual energy and sparkle.

Opening with "Blue Suite" with music from such traditional pieces as "House of the Rising Sun," "I Cried," and "Good Morning Blues," the company displayed a range of styles, using group pieces reminiscent of "West Side Story," and solos to show off individual dancers.

This was followed by a solo performed by the company's star dancer, Judith Jamison. Dedicated to all Black women everywhere-especially our mothers. the dance "Cry" is done to "Something About John Coltrane" by Alice Coltrane, "Been on a Train" by Laura Nyro, and "Right On, Be Free" by the Voices of East Harlem. As Jamison begins her dance, she seems a lone figure on the giant stage, but quickly comes to dominate the senses of the audience through her strong, smooth movements. The sharp contrasts of her white dress to her long. dark limbs stands in opposition to the shades of emotion portrayed in her dramatic performance.

Jamison does not reappear on the stage until the final number, "Revelations" but somehow. when she works with the rest of the company, her sparkle makes the whole troop shine brighter.

"Revelations" explores American Black religious music, from holy blues to high energy gospels and spirituals.

All the solos show off individual members skills, and the full company pieces hold together and finally had even the more conservative members of the audience clapping and tapping their feet to the rhythm.