*Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater*
Experience one of the world’s leading dance companies whose groundbreaking work has revolutionized modern dance and inspired generations of performers and choreographers.
“Watching Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater can change your life. If that sounds like a slogan, it’s truth in advertising.” —The New York Times
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater makes a triumphant return to Toronto after several critically acclaimed runs at Meridian Hall presented by TO Live, most recently in 2023. The company continues to break ground with new works by contemporary choreographers that promise to propel dance in exhilarating new directions—pushing the bounds of what the human body can do and what the human spirit can achieve. Audiences also will be treated to classic works from the Ailey repertory that have inspired and uplifted fans for decades—including the touchstone of inspiration Revelations, the ultimate anthem to resilience and joy.
See more and save with package options designed to help you build your perfect season! Save 20% when you purchase tickets to two or more eligible shows.
Dance & Circus package—pick two from:
• ‘Twas the Night Before…
• Yoann Bourgeois & Patrick Watson
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
• Aditi Mangaldas Dance Company - FORBIDDEN
• Nederlands Dans Theater - NDT 2
The Stage is Yours package:
• Mix and match any two shows from [TO Live’s 2026-27 season](tolive.com/season-26-27 "Link to TO Live's 26-27 webpage")
Looking for even more value? A limited number of 2-for-$50 tickets are also available on select performances throughout the season. Offer excludes ‘Twas the Night Before… and is subject to availability.
Ticket packages and 2-for-$50 offer go on sale Friday, May 22 at 10 am.
About Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Founded by Alvin Ailey on March 30, 1958, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is one of the most acclaimed dance companies in the world. With a repertory that includes close to 300 works by more than 100 choreographers, it has performed in more than 70 countries on six continents and has been designated a “vital American cultural ambassador to the world” by a U.S. Congressional resolution.
Forged during a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was established to uplift the African American experience while transcending boundaries of race, faith, and nationality through its universal humanity. Ailey invited dancers of all backgrounds to be part of his vision while reimagining his company as a “library of dance”—a home for a wide range of choreographers’ works that might otherwise be lost.
Before his untimely death in 1989, Ailey named Judith Jamison as his successor, and for 21 years she brought the company to unprecedented success before appointing Robert Battle to lead the company from 2011–2023. In 2025, Alicia Graf Mack became the organization’s fourth artistic director. A former Ailey dancer under both Jamison and Battle, and a former dean and director of the Dance Division at the Juilliard School, Graf Mack brings her passion for dance and dance education to the continuation of the Ailey tradition.
Today, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues to bring joy to audiences around the globe, while expanding its repertory with works by new choreographers and upholding Ailey’s legacy for future generations.
About Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931, in Rogers, Texas. His experiences of life in the rural south would later inspire some of his most memorable works. He was introduced to dance in Los Angeles through performances by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, and his formal training began when his friend Carmen de Lavallade introduced him to Lester Horton’s classes. Horton, the founder of one of the first racially integrated dance companies in the United States, became a mentor to Ailey as he embarked on his professional career. After Horton’s death in 1953, Ailey became director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works.
In the 1950s and ’60s, Ailey performed in four Broadway shows. In 1958, he founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to carry out his vision of a company dedicated to uplifting the African American experience while enriching and preserving the legacy of modern dance. The creation of his masterpiece Revelations in 1960 cemented his reputation as a choreographer of unique vision, with the ability to transcend racial barriers and connect deeply to people’s humanity.
Ailey established the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (now The Ailey School) in 1969 and formed the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble (now Ailey II) in 1974. He was also a pioneer of programs promoting arts in education. Throughout his lifetime, he received numerous honours, including the Kennedy Center Honor in 1988 in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to American culture. In 2014, he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honour, in recognition of his contributions to civil rights and dance in America.
Following Ailey’s death on December 1, 1989, The New York Times said of him, “you didn’t need to have known [him] personally to have been touched by his humanity, enthusiasm, and exuberance and his courageous stand for multi-racial brotherhood.”
Credits & Creative Team
Alicia Graf Mack – Daria L. and Eric J. Wallach Artistic Director
Matthew Rushing - Associate Artistic Director
Reviews
“The name Alvin Ailey is synonymous with contemporary American dance.” —The Toronto Star
“Everyone should try and see Revelations at least once in their lifetime.” —[Intermission magazine](intermissionmagazine.ca/…/on-alvin-ailey "Link to Intermission review")
“Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has enjoyed an inspiring ascent from hardscrabble origins to a long, still unchallenged reign as America’s most popular dance company…” —The New Yorker
“Nothing prepares you for the totality of Alvin Ailey: the aural, visual, physical, spiritual beauty…Heaven…Everywhere you looked: sensory pleasure…” —The New York Times
“…how fabulously individual the dancers all are. Each is an immediately distinct character…” —The New York Times
“Marking its return to Chicago after a two-year absence, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was like a phoenix rising from the ashes—a hopeful sign that dance fans might be witnessing a light at the end of this pandemic tunnel.” —Chicago Tribune
“Non-profit dance companies face a multitude of challenges – many folding with the death or retirement of their founders or foundering on the rocks of financial duress. A notable exception is Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which has not only survived but has also gone on to become nothing short of an American cultural treasure that remains as popular and artistically relevant as ever.” —Chicago Sun Times
“If you haven’t seen Alvin Ailey, you haven’t seen dance…the most exciting dance company in the world...” —The Huffington Post
“Using African American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues, Alvin Ailey’s Revelations is more than just a popular dance work, it has become a cultural treasure, beloved by generations of fans.” —ByBlacks.com
Meridian Hall · 1 Front Street East
Venue details →