Sculpted muscles leap, arc, swirl and thrust, carving dance designs into the air. More athletic than any sport, more daring than any dance, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is known for its unique style, its wit and its vivid storytelling, which often depicts the experience of being African-American in a Caucasian world.
It is dance that anyone can relate to, and the youngest child can identify with for its sheer life-affirming exuberance. It is dance as an expression of life in all its forms and feelings. And it is dance as a metaphor for meeting life’s many challenges. That is the thrust of the AileyCamp — to help children at risk face the trials of growing up today.
Much of the program’s success is due to the efforts of Westporter Harold Levine and the support of many local corporations, foundations and individuals. Each spring Levine cohosts a performance by an Alvin Ailey troupe of the New York company at the Westport Country Playhouse to benefit Bridgeport’s AileyCamp.