Skip to content
Company of dancers holding fabric

Repertory

Knoxville, Summer of 1915

COMPANIES

CHOREOGRAPHER

WORLD PREMIERE

Clark Center, 1960

MUSIC

Samuel Barber

COSTUMES

Joop Stoksis

Knoxville, Summer of 1915 was created by Alvin Ailey in 1960 and revisited in 1968 for a larger cast of 10 dancers. The ballet was based on James Agee’s poem A Death in the Family. It is an atmospheric work depicting characters who are various family members. The lead male dancer experiences alienation while trying to reconnect and become a part of the family.

Male dancer in white leaning backwards while two dancer walk across the stage

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey's Knoxville, Summer of 1915 Photo by Rosemary Winkley

Female dancer balancing on the back of a male dancer kneeling.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Alvin Ailey's Knoxville, Summer of 1915 Photo by Rosemary Winkley

LIGHTING

Nicola Cernovitch

Hero Credit: Photo by Fred Fehl