Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is back in downtown Los Angeles this week, taking over the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion with a seven-show run that blends the company’s sacred classics with freshly minted work. From Wednesday through Sunday, the legendary Revelations shares the stage with recent commissions and Los Angeles premieres that foreground Afro-Caribbean influences and contemporary voices. Under the company’s current leadership, the lineup ties nearly 70 years of Ailey history to a new generation of choreographers. For L.A. audiences, that includes the local premiere of Matthew Rushing’s suite Sacred Songs, which draws on music originally left out of Revelations.
When and where
The company performs seven shows at the Music Center’s Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with programs spread from Wednesday through Sunday. According to The Music Center, the engagement is part of a multi-year Ailey residency at the venue. The season is programmed under artistic director Alicia Graf Mack, who formally stepped into the role in mid-2025, as noted by Ailey.org.
Onstage: classics meet new voices
The programs pair longtime audience favorites with newer pieces. Revelations and Grace anchor the evenings, while recent works like Blink of an Eye, A Case of You, Difference Between, The Holy Blues, and Embrace rotate through the schedule. The company also brings Maija García’s Jazz Island and the Los Angeles premiere of Matthew Rushing’s Sacred Songs, which has drawn attention for reshaping spirituals that were left out of the original Revelations, according to The Los Angeles Times. Each night’s bill is different, so anyone buying tickets will want to double-check the program before heading downtown.
New choreography to watch
Maija García’s Jazz Island, created for Ailey in 2025, taps into Afro-Caribbean folklore with an original score by Etienne Charles and runs for roughly 25 minutes. Ailey.org notes that it is García’s first work for the company and spotlights its theatrical staging and costume design. Its place in the lineup underscores Ailey’s push to bring stories from across the African diaspora into conversation with the company’s established repertory.
A legacy of cultural ambassadorship
Alvin Ailey’s company has long served as a cultural ambassador, carrying modern dance and Black storytelling around the globe. That has included a 10-country State Department tour of Africa in 1967, a six-week visit to the Soviet Union in 1970, and a tour of China in 1985, along with appearances at high-profile events such as the 1968 Olympic opening ceremonies, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. NMAAHC traces the international history and the company’s practice of using repertory to carry cultural memory onto world stages. That backdrop helps explain why Ailey still functions as a touchstone for longtime dance fans and first-timers alike in Los Angeles.
Local connections
Matthew Rushing, the choreographer of Sacred Songs, is a Los Angeles native and a longtime Ailey leader. His suite brings back spirituals that were cut from the original Revelations and has been framed as a personal, elegiac project. Coverage of earlier performances described his creative process and highlighted a dedication to his late mother, underscoring how intimate the work is for him, according to Berkeleyside. For local audiences, that hometown link adds an extra layer to the company’s visit.
Tickets and what to know
Tickets and specific performance times are listed on The Music Center event page, which also urges patrons to arrive early to navigate downtown traffic and parking around the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. According to The Music Center, most programs wrap up with Revelations, though exact lineups shift by date. Those heading to the theater can expect full-throttle athleticism, gospel-rooted music, and a mix of choreographic voices that keep Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater firmly planted in the canon of American modern dance.
