The Dawn of a New Day for Alvin Ailey Company
12.14.2011
ART & DESIGN
The Artist
L+T: How would you describe the tone of “Home?”
Rennie Harris (pictured right): Sort of like the feeling you get when being away for a long time and returning home — at peace in every way. It’s a bittersweet acknowledgement of life. I have combined the stories of those that have been directly impacted by HIV to build the sense of cultures colliding in a club. In my time in New York, the club was a place for all, where people came to enjoy and some came to live — and the rhythm was the actual culture of those people.
L+T: Were you excited to see the Ailey group spread their wings and dance like they were at a downtown club?
Harris: It was great to get the dancers involved in the movement. I always start with movement and then interject meaning into my pieces, allowing the dancers to build their own characters throughout the piece. There is also a sense of getting to know the dancers throughout the process and incorporating their own individual talents in the piece.
