The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a visionary dance company known for sweeping pieces like “Revelations” (1960) that celebrate the African American experience, came to Atlanta’s Fox Theatre as a stop on its 2024-25 tour. Performing in Atlanta from Feb. 12-16, the dance company presented new works including “Sacred Songs” (2024) by Interim Artistic Director Matthew Rushing, “Finding Free” (2024) by choreographer Hope Boykin and “Many Angels” (2024) by choreographer Lar Lubovitch, in addition to iconic older pieces.
Founded in 1958 by groundbreaking choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has been dubbed a “Cultural Ambassador to the World” by a U.S. congressional resolution. Ailey, who built a legacy in the field of modern dance, earned the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988 and a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014.
The Ailey company was founded on values of social justice and inclusivity, with its performances showcasing themes of Black, American and queer identity. Current dancer Jesse Obremski discussed the importance of those values to him as a dancer.
“I’m half Japanese and half white, but I identify as this minority figure,” Obremski said. “To be able to be a part of a company that supports and exudes and sustains the legacy of artists that have really really created platforms for incredible artists of today and of the future is something that is a dream.”
While the company is constantly evolving and looking forward, the current tour is an homage to a vital figure in the Ailey dance theater’s past: former Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, who Ailey selected to run the company before his passing in 1989. Jamison was more than just an employee — she was widely considered Ailey’s muse. The tour honors Jamison’s legacy by performing an excerpt of the dance “Cry” (1971), a piece Jamison originated, which Obremski said remains “renowned and revered” around the world.
Obremski noted that although he only joined the company three months before Jamison’s passing, he felt her presence “ripple” through the organization. He described her presence as “massive,” describing how people would stand up when she entered the room.
“Every single day, the Ailey organization strives to live up towards her legacy, the same that we do with Mr. Ailey himself,” Obremski said.
While Obremski has been at the Ailey company for seven months, his roots with the Ailey name go deeper. When Obremski was a kid, he saw Clifton Brown — a former Ailey dancer who now maintains the assistant rehearsal director role — perform Ailey’s masterpiece “Revelations.”
“I turned to my mom afterwards and I said, ‘I wanna dance. That’s what I wanna do,’” Obremski said. “And so Ailey was the reason I started to dance…It’s very full circle.”
For eight years, Obremski trained at The Ailey School (N.Y.), an experience that made Obremski know that the group was “the company of [his] dreams.” He continued his education at The Juilliard School (N.Y.) before joining the Ailey company in July 2024.
“It has been sort of a homecoming for me, but I’ve always had Aliey as an ideal that has come to fruition,” Obremski said. “It has absolutely drawn me into dance.”
Obremski also has a personal connection to works beyond “Revelations,” including “Many Angels,” which gave Obremski his first job, and “Finding Free,” which represents hope and optimism for him.
“There’s this sense of examining the challenges and restrictions of life’s peaks and valleys and how to carry your burden with you to move forward rather than just pushing it away and ignoring it,” Obremski said.
The theme of connection carries onto the stage, showcased in the ways the dancers perform together. The piece “Many Angels,” for example, is based on theologian Thomas Aquinas’ famous question, “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?” Obremski elaborated on how the piece doesn’t have a theological connotation with “angels” but a broader theme of “connection” and the sentiment is exhibited through how they dance with each other.
“There’s this sense of community, where we’re able to feel each other in each movement,” Obremski said. “There’s no specific counts, so we’re able to see each other.”
The sense of community in the works reflects the community Obremski feels both on and off stage.
“Those small moments where, even though we’re on tour, we can still be real humans with each other and build a beautiful culture within the dance, within the dancers,” Obremski said. “That’s one thing that I am really appreciating,” Obremski said.
Even though the touring life is new to Obremski, there have still been moments that stick out to him. One of the most memorable happened after a closing performance in Paris when he went outside to meet the audience.
“There was this young Asian individual that wanted autographs from the whole company,” Obremski said. “And I was like, ‘This is why I do it. This is why I do it.’ There’s this inspiration for individuals, giving them a bit of soul, giving them a bit of heart, giving them hope and purpose.”
