Ailey Celebrates NYC Dance Week June 18 – 27 with FREE Class Offers at The Ailey Extension & Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Final Week of Performances at Lincoln Center, Through June 21

Ailey Celebrates NYC Dance Week June 18 – 27 with FREE Class Offers at The Ailey Extension

& Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Final Week of Performances at Lincoln Center, Through June 21

(New York) June 15, 2015 – Ailey celebrates NYC Dance Week, a citywide festival from June 18 – 27 that promotes the joy and diversity of dance, with FREE class offers at The Ailey Extension and performances by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center, through June 21.

The celebration kicks off at the Ailey Studios – home to the incomparable Ailey dancers – on Thursday, June 18 and continues through Saturday, June 27, with at least three free classes offered each day for new students* in nearly all of the 25 techniques offered at The Ailey Extension.  The centerpiece of Ailey’s NYC Dance Week class offerings is a FREE Vogue class for ALL students (new and returning), led by vogue veteran Cesar Valentino on Saturday, June 20 at 5pm. Cesar will teach participants the fundamentals of vogue dancing, complete with hand movements, popping, dipping, and spinning. No registration is required for this special open class.

The NYC Dance Week  classes are the perfect way to add some spice to your exercise routine. Free offerings include everything from Capoeira to Masala Bhangra to the new Kukuwa African Dance Workout – a cardio journey through Africa – so regardless of your workout style, there is sure to be something for you. The complete list of free classes is here. The NYC Dance Week pass (downloadable here) MUST be presented for all FREE classes.

*New students may take one free class; all subsequent classes require payment. Current students will receive a free class with purchase of a 10-class card during this period.

• The June 17 Company premiere of Artistic Director Robert Battle’s No Longer Silent, which brings to life a score by Nazi-banned composer Erwin Schulhoff, who perished in a concentration camp in 1942. This is presented in conjunction with the 70^th anniversary of the liberation of concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald, marking the end of the Holocaust. (Performance Dates: June 17, June 20 evening, June 21 evening)
• A new production of the sensual A Case of You duet by Judith Jamison, performed to Diana Krall’s version of Joni Mitchell’s song by the same title. (Performance Dates: June 17, June 20 evening)
• Farewell performances of Kirven Douthit-Boyd and Antonio Douthit-Boyd, who have become well-known to audiences for their standout performances since joining the Company in 2004, and who married in 2013.  The celebrated Alicia Graf Mack will return to the stage to make her final appearance with the Company at Lincoln Center, in the iconic umbrella woman role in the “Wade in the Water” section at the heart of Alvin Ailey’s American masterpiece Revelations. All three dancers will be prominently featured in the performances on June 16, 18, and 21 (evening).

About NYC Dance Week:
Now in its fourth year, New York City Dance Week collaborates with noted studios in New York City to celebrating the joy and diversity of dance with an exhilarating 10-day festival of FREE dance, fitness and wellness classes. The festival engages the community and families to experience dance, encouraging them to live active, healthy lifestyles. The organization moves beyond traditional dance forms to teach participants how all dance genres benefit mind, body and spirit. The event is held in June at a variety of venues throughout New York City and serves thousands.

About The Ailey Extension:
Since its inception in 2005, The Ailey Extension has fulfilled Mr. Ailey’s life-long commitment of bringing dance to everyone by offering “real classes for real people.” The Ailey Extension offers of over 80 classes per week in more than 25 different dance and fitness techniques such as Horton, Ballet, Masala Bhangra, West African, Samba, Jazz, Zumba, House and Hip Hop.  All levels are welcome, including beginners! Over 86,000 people have taken classes at Ailey’s home, New York’s largest building dedicated to dance, where dancers of all levels and walks of life can learn and be inspired – body, mind, and spirit!

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