Passage

Alvin Ailey marked Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s 20th anniversary season by choreographing this solo for Judith Jamison. In Passage, Ms. Jamison portrayed Marie Laveau, the most powerful voodoo queen in the history of the United States, who practiced snake worship, mystical spells, and other magic. The priestess was also a master manipulator whose influences extended deeply into the social and political fabric of 19th century New Orleans.

The ballet featured a lintel-like set of platforms by Romare Bearden. Mr. Ailey gave Ms. Jamison movement and gestures that conjured a mixture of the mysterious and the familiar. The influence of Martha Graham—particularly her evocation of mythical heroines and use of fabrics as a shroud—was evident in this deceptively difficult work. Passage depended not only on Ms. Jamison’s charismatic star presence, but on the strength of her technique.