Revelation

It was my sophomore year of college and I was living at home, commuting. I’d shunned the sorority route, tired of the cliques of high school. I was an island. I was taking a full schedule of classes, then making the daily drive home. I was on auto-pilot. Winter quarter found me in “An Introduction to the History of Dance.” I thought it would be a light elective in my otherwise heavy class load. I expected lots of reading and exams. I never thought it would jump-start a passion. I met Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp and modern dance. But it was a video performance of “Revelations” by the Alvin Ailey Dance Company that changed my life.

The magnificent choreography told a story, rich in history, angst, courage, pride, strength, culture, community and love. Without words, it communicated something that volumes of history books never could. It moved something deep inside me—bringing tears to my eyes and longing to my soul. Who would have ever guessed that a dance number by a primarily African American Dance Company from New York could impact a little white Midwestern girl who’d (up until then) never taken a dance class? The deeply moving spiritual music and expressive, emotional movement were etched on my heart.

I remembered that experience last night as three male Ailey Company dancers performed an excerpt from Revelations on “So You Think You Can Dance.” For a moment, I flashed back to that university auditorium seeing the amazing lines of Judith Jamison for the first time. I’ve seen Revelations performed live by the Ailey Company twice since my college days—once when I was teaching dance and once after I’d moved on to a career in PR. The reaction is always the same—goosebumps.