POSTED July 22, 2026
AILEY & The Zodiac
Do you possess the fiery, combustible energy of a sinner man? The mysterious, passionate intensity of a hidden rite? Or the wily, charismatic charm of a night creature? Discover which of Alvin Ailey’s ballets you are based on your zodiac sign.
ARIES | Blues Suite
It’s fitting that Alvin Ailey’s first ballet for his company would suit the fire sign, Aries being the first sign in the zodiac. The dancers in Blues Suite crackle and flare with passionate impulses that breach the surface, and the characters Mr. Ailey envisioned—drawn from those he remembered from the barrelhouses of his childhood in the South—are temperamental and ready to explode at any moment, just like the ram.
TAURUS | A Song For You
Reliable, patient, and quietly sensual—all qualities that the bull sign shares with this solo, choreographed as a male counterpoint to Cry. Originally performed by Dudley Williams to Donny Hathaway’s rendition of the song, the dance has an earthy stability and restrained emotionality. Hathaway sings “I love you for my life, ’cause you’re a friend of mine,” which doubles as a testament to the earth signs dependability.
GEMINI | Pas de Duke
What ballet could better exemplify the dual-sided sign of Gemini? In Pas de Duke, originally danced by Judith Jamison and Mikhail Baryshnikov, the two dancers size each other up, competing with and challenging one another but always in a curious, witty, and light-hearted way. They adapt, changing themselves to better test their other half, both coming out the stronger for it. The playful, breezy game of one-upmanship perfectly suits the air sign.
CANCER | Cry
The crab is emotionally deep, nurturing, and open-hearted, but they have a private side too, an intensity they sometimes shield from the world. Alvin Ailey choreographed Cry for his mother, and in Judith Jamison’s debut performance she captured the resilience of “all Black women everywhere.” The maternal Cry, containing the deepest sorrow as well as the most ecstatic joy, is pure Cancer.
LEO | Night Creature
The lion is bold, confident, charismatic, and owns the stage. Leo’s have a flair for the dramatic but are not deceptive, and most honest when embracing their extroversion. That’s Night Creature, the ballet for those that, as the ballet’s composer Duke Ellington said, “do not come OUT at night—they come ON, each thinking that, before the night is out, he or she will be the star.”
VIRGO | Streams
When Alvin Ailey choreographed Streams in 1970, it was one of his first ballets to embrace an abstract expression of music. One of his most meticulous works, it is a study of the movement and shifting rhythms of water. This approach is the ideal encapsulation of Virgo: analytical, practical, yet still harboring a deep passion for craft and sincerity of expression.
LIBRA | Memoria
Libra is the most social sign; thriving when surrounded by people. In Memoria, Mr. Ailey brought together his largest cast ever, including dancers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II and The Ailey School. The ballet was a tribute to his friend Joyce Trisler after her passing, and the epic scope of the work was Mr. Ailey’s way of honoring the enormity of her spirit. Just like Libra, Memoria finds beauty and harmony through symmetry and aesthetic balance.
SCORPIO | Hidden Rites
One of Mr. Ailey’s most experimental ballets, Hidden Rites churns with a secret, seductive impulse. Mr. Ailey was inspired when creating the ballet by Martha Graham, known for her erotic excavations of the deepest parts of the human psyche. No sign better exemplifies that secretive power than Scorpio. The scorpion is unafraid to confront the darker parts of ourselves, and the dancers in Hidden Rites give shape to our hidden desires.
SAGITTARIUS | For ‘Bird’—With Love
This ode to jazz legend Charlie 'Bird' Parker is as exuberant and full of life as the man himself, honoring the improvisational daring and freedom of his music. The work captures the adventurous, spontaneous, and optimistic spirit of Parker, all qualities shared by Sagittarius. The fire sign is both a warrior and a poet; a combination of strength and lyrical beauty that perfectly describes Parker, his music, and Mr. Ailey’s tribute.
CAPRICORN | Hermit Songs
Capricorn can retreat from social life into work, just as Mr. Ailey (a Capricorn) turned inward when he choreographed Hermit Songs as a solo for himself in 1961. He created the work directly after Revelations, his masterpiece that was a tribute to the religious communities of his youth, whereas this solo was an internal spiritual seeking. The sea-goat sign is disciplined and methodical, driven by quiet perseverance to achieving his goals, whether material or esoteric, just as the man Mr. Ailey depicted in Hermit Songs.
AQUARIUS | The River
Mr. Ailey’s most balletic work,The River, was the first ballet to which Duke Ellington composed an original piece of music for him. The two worked together intimately, and Mr. Ailey pushed his choreography to new places, blending classical, modern, and jazz techniques to create movement that moved with the ethereal harmony of a river. Despite its watery name, Aquarius is an air sign, which mirrors Mr. Ailey’s translation of the river into movement lighter than air.
PISCES | Revelations
Pisces is the sign of transcendence, and no other work in Mr. Ailey’s repertory has the power to inspire transcendence than his masterpiece, Revelations. Just like the fish sign, the ballet is characterized by a strong artistic vision, deep intuition and empathy, and a spirit of generosity. Pisces are adaptable, and no other ballet in the company’s repertory moves through so many different moods and emotional states. Finally, Pisces is a water sign, and what would Revelations be without returning to the water to be reborn?
See Ailey at NYCC
Hero Credit: Photo by Paul Kolnik