Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater -Wade in the Water from "Revelations"

Jan
21
Submitted by webmaster on Thu, 01/21/2010 - 07:21

Alvin Ailey Dance-Wade in the Water from "Revelations"

Posted by Juwar74
November 25, 2007
"Wade in the Water from "Revelations"

"All rights reserved to the production companies and music labels that distributed and produced the music and performance respectively. I do not own the rights to the music nor the footage, I only added the footage as a tribute for historical, entertainment, and creative purposes with no financial gain. Please consider purchasing tickets to see the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater live or other media products. Copyright infringement not intended."

Video Description:
A world renown African American modern dance company dances to African American spirituals.

2 comments

webmaster
Thu, 21 January, 2010 - 08:43
 
More viewer comments from
dohiker (1 year ago) I'm in tears. Powerful songs. Vivid images. I love "Wade in the Water". That driving beat sounds like a train. Thank you!

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mca1218 (11 months ago) I saw this in the 1980's at the Kennedy Center when I was still in school. I watched this from the back of the theater. Donna Wood was the elegant lady with the parasol. All I can say is that I was transferred to the tropics, watching a baptism on a beach in Antigua. The ladies in the white dresses- elegant and sensuous at the same time. When the music changed over (at 2:52) to the "Wade" theme, the audience actually broke into applause. It was a very moving experience. Glad to see this post.

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apmongobarn (10 months ago) Can anyone tell me what this style is called?
Is it jazz or modern/contemporary. Is it definable? I want to learn to dance like this, it's awesome!

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pollydances (10 months ago) Ailey had his own style based very closely on the Lester Horton Technique. There are several good Horton technique videos which is where you probably need to start. It's modern but based very strongly in classical ballet. So you also need a strong classical ballet back ground.

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bluscorpion (10 months ago) omg! they're doing yanvalou in this dance! I love it! I never saw the whole thing- this is good!!!

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Azizip17 (2 minutes ago) Yanvalou:
"A ritual dance originated in Benin. It honors all the spirits of the rada nation. Yanvalou represents the undulation of the waves as they rise and fall and also the movement of spirit Dambalah, represented by a serpent. Dambalah is the source of energy and life. White is the color of the very pure rada spirits."
-snip-
Benin, West Africa used to be known as Dahomey. For more information, check online sources with key words "yanvalou", "Damballah", and "rada":
[YouTube wouldn’t allow this attribution. That quote is from http://www.haitiantreasures.com/HT_agoci.dance.htm ]

 

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corryngf (10 months ago) alvin Ailey and Judith Jameson 2 of my favorite choreographers i always wanted to be an Ailey dancer

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Angele01 (10 months ago) I aspire to be an Alvin Ailey dancer one day. Ever since I saw them perform made me feel that I could that too.U rock Judith Jamison.Rest in peace Alvin Ailey

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tarmaria913 (9 months ago) who is sing "wade in the water" ? I love it PLEASE somebody tell me

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HOBSENE (8 months ago) There is a cd out with all the music on it. Go on their website you should be able to find it. I believe it may be the Moses Hogan singers. I really can't remember. It is an awesome cd. Hope you can find it.

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aquariusbro (7 months ago) Sounds of Blackness is who's doing this version of Wade In The Water

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bwebs25 (7 months ago) can anyone move like deborah manning? if there is someone out there who can, please point them out to me....she's pure quality and soul

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bajanislandsun (7 months ago) ooooooooo black men in tights! *grin*

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sacrafiser (6 months ago) my name is wade!!!

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xoxballerinagirl (6 months ago) choreography is amazing

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mrxtreme2008 (6 months ago) omg!!!! my dream is to dance with this company

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kinddude (5 months ago) It was thanks to seeing Alvin Ailey perform at the Clinton's first inauguration ceremony that dance first became accessible to me. Thanks! By the way, how they make it seem so easy. And how on earth does the prima ballerina hold up the umbrella so long. I can't even hold my arm up that long with an empty hand.

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smartypantsnyc (4 months ago) This is an absolute masterpiece. Tears streaming down my face and it's not my first time seeing it, either. Thanks so much for posting it.
webmaster
Thu, 21 January, 2010 - 08:41

Viewer comments from 
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=l9uEq9Sjefg&fromurl=/watch%3Fv%3Dl9uEq9Sjefg

 
MsBHoopingAllure (2 years ago) Exquisite...perfect...inspirin g...amazing. I hope to see this show live...in short, kudos!
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Neely17 (2 years ago) an alvin aliey school should come 2 england man, we have like no black dance companys over here! well not for contempary or ballet like

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Butene (2 years ago) I actually performed a repetoire of Revelations at school but it wasn't half as amazing as this! I Love Alvin Ailey

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CHERRYSCORPIO (2 years ago) thi s is so cool. i love him and this. i dont care what anyone say, without african americans, dance would be boring.

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blueizazn (1 year ago) that is true, but i still would like to think that dance is of the world--of all races. And there is no such thing as a boring dance style or dance performance. if it's done right and clean and neat and flowing with the music--be it ballet, jazz, hip hop or square dancing--it is awesome.
ooo and don't feel obliged to reply.

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daniidj (1 year ago) they are phenomenal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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ladymarcy80 (1 year ago) IT'S AMAZING!!!!

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sparetirenomore (1 year ago) i absolutely love this

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mitchellcbridge (1 year ago) whats the name of the first song

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trollzboy (1 year ago) it's called i've been 'buked...

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zenbrooklyn (1 year ago) When I first saw this piece years ago before becoming a dancer, it changed my life. I was crying and hyperventilating to the point that I thought I'd have to leave the theater! My friend reached over and took my hand, and I calmed....but I had already become the dancer inside! This piece was/is The Revelation, Epiphany, & explosion of desire for my career in dance. This is one of the most special, important pieces of choreography in The World...Brought to us by a Black Man. Thank you Mr. Ailey.

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HateItOrLoveIt101 (1 year ago) we did this dance in my dance school!!!!!!!!!!!

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nmwoo89 (1 year ago) That was incredible

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Reluctantwriter7 (1 year ago) there is no way anyone can watch this and not have appreciation for the movement of the human body so beautiful

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JustineG04 (1 year ago) I got to see them perform this past weekend. It was beautiful. And I totally admire the woman with the umbrella...what endurance!

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mmg598 (1 year ago) I saw this 2 days ago and it was spectacular!!!!!! looking forward to seeing more!!!!

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hotvibe69 (1 year ago) Simply amazing. One of the best in American cannon.

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thomasmoredamian (1 year ago) i saw Revelations at the opera house in seattle way, way, way, WAY back when (1975 at their peak) and seeing Judith Jameson, the company's current director on the Charlie Rose program brought it all back: it was on that night that my sister's and my lives were changed forever....to see Ms. JJameson's last few moments, arms stretching to heaven....welll, just knowing that such a man's company/choreography still exists let me know that yes, children, that there is a God...and that dance lives!

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cyberina (1 year ago) Some folks have been asking about the music.
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The song is traditional, sung by slaves during the days of the Underground Railroad as a code to communicate that they could more easily safely escape if they waded in water on their routes out to prevent being detected by dogs scouting their scent.
There are literally hundreds and hundreds of adaptations of the song over the past century and a half.
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Azizip17 (8 minutes ago) Alvin Ailey's "Revelations" is beautiful, and so inspiring. I love watching it. In my next life I want to be a dancer. @cyberina: people didn't need to sing "Wade In The Water" to know that water helped prevent dogs from scouting their scent. . Spirituals like "Wade In The Water" & "Steal Away" are religious songs that didn't always have a coded meaning. A lot of information about spirituals as code songs is made-up. If u were fleeing slavery would u want lots of people knowing about it? No.

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bigmacbebe (1 year ago) lol sorry but this is def. not blues

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cyberina (1 year ago) I never said it was blues.  I said it was included in a class on blues history.
This track comes from a time much earlier than the blues came to existence.
The music was very EXTREMELY key in the development of blues later on down the road, which is why it was included in a class on the history of blues.
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leilajiva (1 year ago) My Dad took me to see this show! What a treat!  This dance scene is going down in history as one of my all time favourites.

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cyberina (1 year ago) Wade the Water is considered a spiritual.
"The most important direct predecessor of the blues was the spiritual, a form of religious song with its roots in the camp meetings of the Great Awakening of the early 19th century."
 
Source of information:
Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Americans. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. ISBN 0-393-03843-2.

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ChevilleGod (1 year ago) Question, a friend and I are debating whether or not the umbrella used in this particular show is intended to sorta resemble a jellyfish?

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Juwar74 (1 year ago) You're looking too deep. The umbrella used in the show is similar to what many older black women used when baptismals and church revivals where held outside during hot summers in the South. Back in the day, people got baptized at the local river or pond.

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Zeuszgrl (1 year ago) I love it ! and Those beautiful flowing dresses were just MADE for DANCING IN !
Excellent singing too
Oooxxxxoooooxxx

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Pinkheels86 (1 year ago) I can't believe I stopped dancing because my parents said it wasn't a reall career. I miss it so much. Wow! Amazing work.

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CaptainJenna7 (1 year ago) they are so flexible...holy cow

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dancechicks362 (1 year ago) i don't get it why is that girl holding an umbrella??? I thought it was very good!!

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gjford1951 (1 year ago) It's a parasol ("for the sun") rather than an umbrella (shade-giver). It's to protect her from that hot sun in the tropics or the deep south. And women with parasols is an image that Ailey would have seen a lot of as a child. And since this entire dance is about what shaped him from in his childhood, this lady with the parasol could not have been left out any more than the ladies with the fans who appear at the end of Revelations.

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anais8790 (1 year ago) beautiful!! Gives me chills every time.

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