Chocolate Sessions

Former Ailey dancer and sought-after choreographer Dwight Rhoden explores the tension and tenderness of human relationships in this work, his second for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Juxtaposing powerfully sharp and sensual movements, Rhoden challenged the Ailey dancers’ stunning artistry, strength, and unbridled physicality. The edgy and sonorous electronic score—by another former Ailey dancer Atonio Carlos Scott—propells this powerhouse work.

“With Chocolate Sessions, I was exploring the various tensions that comprise a duet and I wanted it to have an improvisational quality,” Rhoden explained. “It's reactionary and one movement feeds into another with a sort of seamlessness. My movement is more structured and detailed, but it almost has a contact improvisational feel in its evolution. My work is complex—I love mathematics.”  

“It also has to do with the idea of what chocolate is to me—it is an aphrodisiac. The taste of chocolate is irresistible, and it raises the endorphin levels in the brain. The rush one gets from chocolate is the same rush I feel watching the gorgeous dancers. It is a very generous experience, much like what Alvin Ailey was to me as a mentor."

"The challenge for me was to be able to say all that I wanted to say in 17 minutes. I wanted Chocolate Sessions to have a real sensibility. I wanted the ballet to be episodic in nature—rich, strong, decadent, sweet, intense—all those elements that I feel the Ailey company embodies. It is my impression of what the Ailey legacy is because I am a product of everything that I have been a part of."