UC Irvine

Alvin Ailey’s Cry is a modern dance masterwork of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre’s Repertory that has been performed many times since its 1971 premiere. What makes Ailey’s Cry so impactful to contemporary audiences is the cornerstone of this inquiry. This thesis explored Alvin Ailey’s Cry and its interpretation from various perspectives that led to the creation of my own choreography entitled Weathered. Along with experts’ analyses, I examined how audiences respond to Cry and integrated their insights into the development of a new choreographic work. My methodology utilized reception theory and a survey to uncover the moments deemed most impactful by voluntary respondents. These survey findings went on to serve as data points to inform my choreographical choices. I included two dancers plus myself to create three solos that built upon the themes that resonated widely through kinesthetic empathy entwined with the lens of their own lived experiences. I concluded that Ailey’s Cry is timelessly impactful because of the breadth of people that are able to relate with it in their own way.