Echoes of Ailey

See the AILEY dancers bring the Whitney Museum's collections to life.

Director Ezra Hurwitz and Ailey II Artistic Director Francesca Harper joined forces to conceive a film tribute in collaboration with The Whitney Museum of American Art that evokes Alvin Ailey's “blood memories” and the enduring power of his legacy. Created to echo the groundbreaking exhibition Edges of Ailey, the film features Ailey II Artistic Director Emerita Sylvia Waters walking alongside performers from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School, intertwining moving images with the museum’s iconic paintings and sculptures. Accompanied by music from GRAMMY Award-winning band Radiohead, the dancers move fluidly through these distinctive spaces in new and familiar ways, inviting the audience to witness a transformative moment where legacy and future converge.