Center Stage: Alvin Ailey American Dance Dazzles at Segerstrom Center

Alvin Ailey "Revelations"

This opening night for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Segerstrom Center for the Arts was different than others. There was the same buzzing energy and the house was packed, as usual, but as the lights dimmed and straggling audience members rushed to take their seats, a sentimental mood set in.

It was announced that the company would perform the show in dedication to the late Donald McKayle, a renowned choreographer who set numerous works for the company. McKayle, a longtime dance teacher at UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts, had just passed away a week earlier.