Dance St. Louis, known for bringing grand, show-stopping performances to the stage, will showcase the Emerson Spring to Dance Festival 2021, June 25-27 under The Big Top in the Grand Center Arts District.
What makes the festival unique is that each day has a distinct lineup with performances by different companies. Each will feature different dance styles for the entire family, including ballet, modern, hip-hop and contemporary.
Fourteen dance companies from across the country will present including St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, Detroit, Miami, San Francisco and New York City. Four world premieres will also be performed at the festival. Five companies are making their Spring to Dance debut.
St. Louis native Antonio Douthit-Boyd, former Alvin Ailey Dance Theater principal artist and co-artistic director of dance at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) will perform the duet, “Fix Me Jesus” from Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations with Jacqueline Green, AADT principal artist.
“It’s a staple and I learned the dance in the middle of my career at Ailey,” Douthit-Boyd said. “Every partner that you do this piece with is different and every time is different that you do it. There’s just something about her, it’s so emotional and spiritual dancing with her.”
This isn’t the first time Douthit-Boyd and Green have danced together, they’ve danced together before on numerous occasions. However, this will be Green’s first live performance and she expressed that she’s more than excited to share this experience with Douthit-Boyd.
“To be able to reconnect with him is super special,” Green said. “It’s just a physical communication and it’s magical on stage.
Revelations is a ballet that incorporates African American spirituals, gospel songs, holy blues, and song-sermons while exploring places of intense grief and sacred joy in the soul.
Since premiering in 1960, it’s been recognized as more than just a favorable performance, it’s cherished by fans ranging in age from young to old and often referred to as a cultural treasure.
Ailey once said that African-American cultural heritage was one of America’s richest prizes—“sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.”
This timeless piece comes from Ailey’s childhood memories of growing up in rural Texas and attending the Baptist Church.
Green will also perform the 16-minute solo Cry, Ailey first choreographed the ballet as a birthday present for his mother in 1971. Judith Jamison was the first person to perform it and it is an homage for all Black women especially mothers.
The solo consists of three parts, the first is set to Alice Coltrane’s “Something about John Coltrane,” the second to Laura Nyro’s “Been on a Train” and the last has the Voices of East Harlem singing “Right On, Be Free.”
Green said she feels honored to not only perform Cry during its 50th Anniversary, but also as part of her first live performance debut.
“I’m very excited to continue to share it and be one of the women to pass on the legacy, message, and experience of Cry,” Green said. “I always do it for my mom.”
The woman soloist in the dance represents all Black women tracing all the way back to their African origins, the trials and tribulations they’ve conquered, and happiness shown despite obstacles.
“I think it’s really important in this day and age to also celebrate us,” Green said. “With all things that are going on and the sadness we see on the news, happening in our communities and workplaces we still need that balance for our mental health to have our own celebrations.”
The Emerson Spring to Dance Festival performances will be 7:30 p.m. Friday, June 25; 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 26; and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at The Big Top.
Learn more about the festival here: https://www.dancestlouis.org/emerson-spring-to-dance-festival-2021.
Tickets for the festival can be purchased on https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/dance-st-louis-emerson-spring-to-dance-festival-2021 or by calling the Metro Tix box office at 314-534-1111.