Cry – Alvin Ailey Essay Example

sun, and I ain’t going north no more.”

The first dancer to perform this work publicly was Judith Jamison. Judith, as an extremely talented performer was able to portray Alvin Ailey’s intent flawlessly. She clearly demonstrated Ailey’s mother’s struggles as well as any other African American woman’s struggles at the time as a slave to their fight for freedom.

The first section of ‘Cry’ introduces the idea of the piece immediately by Judith Jamison (while wearing a white leotard and long white skirt) representing her place in the ‘food chain’ using low levels & body language. One of the biggest hints that give away this intent is the use of a singular prop used throughout the entire dance. This prop is a long piece of white material (that has characteristics of a silk scarf) and is used to symbolise the boundaries and restraints in the lives of the slaves. Her emotions change throughout this section, she is hidden at first but then she progressively becomes angrier as she is frustrated & confined while doing things she does not want to do.

The movements used in this section are very long and flowing. There are several arm extensions & contractions that are soon followed by Jamison’s torso pushing back up. I see the arm extension as trying to reach out for freedom and something better outside of that small box of slavery and I see the contractions as the pressure finally getting to her and then she decides to not give in to that pressure.

In the second section it represents the women fighting for their freedom. The movements are a lot

more circular in this section. It uses more contractions, releasing & vibratory movements. In the first two sections, the dancer shows the struggle being not only physical but emotional also. She does this by the powerful expressions she uses on her face. She even imitates a couple of screams that play in the song ‘Been On A Train’. This gives the audience a clear understanding of the how she is feeling.

The connection between the second and third section is that it goes from fighting for freedom to finally having it. In this last section, we can see the excitement & joy from Jamison’s new expression on her face & the way her body is moving. It has gone from contractions, low movements, & stillness to jumps, turns & high kicks. She does these high level movements physically to represent how happy and high she feels emotionally to finally have this freedom.

There are a couple of themes used in this extravagant work of art. The main theme is the obvious one; it’s Alvin Ailey and his strong relationship with his mother Lula Elizabeth Ailey. His other theme is his empathy towards all women and the fact that he has the talent to portray the thoughts and feelings of women using a single dancer.

Alvin Ailey created the perfect mix by using his choreographing skills, and Judith Jamison’s dancing skills to give a performance worth watching again & again. I highly recommend watching this work to anybody who knows something amazing when they see it.