Director Ezra Hurwitz transports Alvin Ailey’s choreography to a museum context, celebrating Edges of Ailey at the Whitney Museum of American Art

Dancer-turned-director Ezra Hurwitz collaborates with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, featuring movement as museum pieces against the Whitney Museum of American Art's striking architecture for short film Echoes of Ailey. Commissioned to celebrate Edges of Ailey, the film accompanies the first large-scale exhibition on the life and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey, currently on view at the Whitney.

Animating iconic images from Alvin Ailey’s 20th-century repertory, the film expands on the exhibition by constructing a visual narrative around his storytelling and influences. Set to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place,” dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School capture the emotional core of the company’s history – physically situating Ailey’s masterworks amongst the Whitney’s collection.

“As a child, my grandmother took me to Ailey’s Revelations once a year,” said Hurwitz. “No matter how often I saw it, the work captivated me. There isn’t one specific thing I hope viewers take away from the film – or one way to interpret its images. It’s meant to be an abstract work, like Ailey’s creations.”

Turning to his archive, Hurwitz and Harper illuminate key sequences symbolic of Ailey’s profound legacy, closing on an uninterrupted sequence from “I’ve Been Buked,” the opening movement of Ailey’s legendary Revelations. Carrying a watershed moment back to its own medium, Echoes of Ailey captures the multigenerational impact of Ailey’s work, continued by his organization.  

Edges of Ailey is on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art until February 9, 2025.