Canticle of the Elements

Canticle of the Elements, choreographed by Janet Collins, the first African American ballerina to dance at the Metropolitan Opera in the 1940s, is a salute to the pioneers of dance. Alvin Ailey invited Collins to choreograph a work for his company in 1974. In that same year, he also invited Dr. Pearl Primus, who set The Wedding and Fanga on the Company. Collins also set Spirituals on the Company, a solo she had choreographed in 1949.