Labyrinth

Alvin Ailey’s Labyrinth premiered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music for a single performance in 1963 and was reconceived as Ariadne for the Harkness Ballet of New York in 1965. The Harkness Ballet premiere occurred in Paris at a gala fundraising performance for L’Association Franco-Americaine Atlantique, an organization to strengthen cultural ties between France and the United States. The theme is based on the Greek tale of Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur, but imagines the legend from the viewpoint of Ariadne rather than Theseus. The ballet has music by the respected French composer André Jolivet, who collaborated with Mr. Ailey.