Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre - "Revelations", 1961

Jack Mitchell, photographer

Gift of Lowell Nesbitt, The Dr. Jacob Joseph and Bernice Fox Weinstein Collection, U1981.4.5.16

This photo depicts dancers in the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (AAADT) performing “Pilgrim of Sorrow” from Revelations, Ailey’s most famous piece of choreography. Ailey’s powerful choreography performed by a company of African American dancers translated the work of Civil Rights activists onto the stage. Using African-American spirituals, Baptist-inspired gospel, and blues, Revelations narrates the story of American slavery and the strength and struggle of the African American experience.

Mitchell produced this photograph in 1961, reflecting not only the beauty and talent of the dancers on stage, but the spirit of the AAADT within the context of the contemporaneous Civil Rights Movement. His photographs of these dancers showed the world the strength, beauty, and talent of these black dancers who had been overlooked by white-dominated ballet companies.