SU’s Pulse to present legendary dance company Ailey II Feb. 28

SU’s Pulse to present legendary dance company Ailey II Feb. 28February 11, 2008Jaime Winne Alvarezjlwinne@syr.edu

In celebration of Black History Month, celebrated dance company Ailey II will take the stage at Syracuse University on Thursday, Feb. 28, as part of the 2007-08 season of SU’s Pulse performing arts series, a collaborative project of the College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and the Division of Student Affairs. Part of the company’s North American tour, the performance will take place at 8 p.m. in the Ann and Alfred R. Goldstein Auditorium, located in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Ailey II’s parent company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Pulse has commissioned a new work for the performance. The piece, “Requiem,” is choreographed by Chang Yong Sung.

Tickets are required and can be purchased at the Schine Student Center Box Office, (315) 443-4517. They are $5 for SU students with valid SU I.D.; $15 for SU faculty, staff and alumni, and staff members of local Pulse partners; and $20 for the general public. Free parking will be available in the Marion, Harrison, Lyman, Ostrom and Waverly lots. Patrons should alert the parking attendant that they are on campus for the Ailey II performance.

The performance also features a unique local connection in Ailey II company member Aisha Mitchell, a Syracuse native. A recent graduate of the Ailey-Fordham University B.F.A. dance program and former apprentice with Ailey II, Mitchell received her primary dance training locally from the Onondaga Dance Institute, Dance Centre North and SU Drama professor Anthony Salatino. She also studied at The Ailey School as a fellowship student and with the North Carolina Dance Theater, Lines Ballet School and The Joffrey Ballet School. A bronze medalist at the 2001 NAACP National ACT-SO competition, Mitchell is in her first year with Ailey II.

Prior to the public performance, Ailey II will hold a private master class for SU Drama students and an open rehearsal for SU student dance organizations. Both of these events are closed to the general public.

“Syracuse University is proud to partner so closely with a dance troupe as renowned as Ailey II, and our students are the direct beneficiaries of this partnership, thanks to the rich diversity of master classes, performances and interactions they will have with these world-class dancers,” says Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Barry L. Wells. “This is a fitting example of how Pulse offers myriad educational and personal growth opportunities through the medium of the arts.”

Ailey II is universally renowned for merging the spirit and energy of the country’s best young dance talent with the passion and creative vision of today’s most outstanding emerging choreographers. Alvin Ailey personally appointed former Ailey member Sylvia Waters as artistic director in 1974. Under her direction, Ailey II has become one of the most popular dance companies in the country, combining a rigorous touring schedule with extensive community outreach programs.

Pulse provides SU students and the local community opportunities to attend and participate in programs, performances, exhibitions and events in the visual and performing arts. For more information, visit http://pulse.syr.edu.