The holiday season has officially begun as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre has opened it annual season at City Center, this time for 33 day run thru January 1st. The gala opening featured “Reminiscin”, a new work choreographed by Ailey’s artistic director and former Ailey dancer, Judith Jamison. The work, thanks to major support provided by Essence Magazine, and created through the Ailey new Works Fund, supported by the Altria Group and Ailey’s New Choreography Initiative, sponsored by AT&T, and additional funding by The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Laren & Jesse Brill, Camille O, & William H. Cosby and The Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey – Sara & Bill Morgan New Works Endowment Fund. Reminiscin’ showcases the Ailey dancers in a nightclub setting, displaying solo, duet and ensemble movements that set the pace of an exciting opening evening. Dancers are probably the hardest working and most rehearsed artists in show business, and it shows in the precision and eloquent display of form and technique and in many cases, acrobatics, as witnessed by the performances of Reneé Robinson, Courtney Brené Corbin, Linda Celeste Sims, Asha Thomas, Wendy White Sasser, Hope Boykin, Matthew Rushing, Glenn Allen Sims, Varnard J. Gilmore, Clifton Brown, Kiren J. Boyd and Dwana Adiaha Smallwood. They dance to the music by various artists, featuring well known recorded standards such as “Love Me or Leave Me” and “A Tisket A Tasket” as performed respectively by the late, greats Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, and “Always” sung by Roberta Flack, who was a host for the event.

No Ailey gala seems complete without the performance of his most famous, and probably the world’s most popular dance suite, “Revelations.” This 1960 classic choreographed by Alvin, was the closer. This spiritually based series of dances performed at the gala with live traditional gospel music, with solos and duets by Angela Reneé Simpson, T. Ray Lawrence, Jeffery Lesley, Ella Mitchell, Robert Mack, and Roberta Flack.

Revelations’ opening section of 3 pieces under the “Pilgrim of Sorrow” suite starts with the company performing with graphically stunning movements in “I Been ‘Buked”, picks up the beat in “Didn’t My Lord Deliver Daniel” with dancers, Gilmore, Rosalyn Deshauters and Briana Reed. “Fix Me Jesus” closed out this segment with Linda and Glenn Sims (no relation) in a duet.

The center section of Revelations is “Take Me To The Water” which contains what is possibly the most recognized for its much published photographs with Ailey dancers in white, its blue background and white parasol carried by one of the lead dancers in the opening processional “Honor, Honor” with dancers Abdur-Rahim Jackson, Boykin, Dion Wilson and Jamar Roberts and vocal soloist Lesley. An all time favorite is “Wade in the Water” with dancers Thomas, Rushing and Robinson and vocal solos by Mitchell and Lesley.“I Wanna Be Ready” skillfully danced by Amos J. Machanic, Jr. and Robert Mack singing closes out the section.

The closing section of Revelations is “Move, Members, Move”, often called the “yellow section”, opens with “Sinner Man” with a trio of male dancers, that always, always brings a roar of applause from this energetic, frantic attempt to escape from the fires of hell. The dancers, Jamar Roberts, Clifton Brown, and Kirven J. Boyd performing collectively and in their respective solos are superb, while vocal soloists Simpson and Mack are equally rousing. “Sinner Man, Sinner Man where ya gonna run to? Run to the rocks, the rocks can’t hide you….” will get you thinking about repenting before that final day. Which takes us to church and the next number, “The Day Is Past and Gone” with the sisters of the church, in their long yellow and white gowns, Sunday-go-to meeting hats and fast fanning fans, lead us to salvation. The Company with vocal soloists Mitchell and Lesley carry us through the rest of the evening with “You May Run On” and “Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham” with the male dancers rocking us through the finale.

Performances vary from night to night with many great dances from the extensive Ailey repertoire, including the very popular “Love Stories” co-choreographed by Jamison with Robert Battle and Rennie Harris and music by Stevie Wonder, “Shining Star” by David Parsons and music by Earth Wind & Fire (both of which débuted last year. Also showing this season will be Ailey company classics “Grace”, “Winter In Lisbon”, “Night Creature” and others. Consult the schedule by calling The Ailey Company at 212.405-9000, or try their website www.alvinailey.org.