By Walter Rutledge
The Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center will present the final PEEKS performance on Monday, June 30, 7:30pm at the Actor’s Fund Arts Center 160 Schermerhorn Street. The series will conclude with A Song For You: An Evening With Dudley Williams. Dancer and teacher Dudley Williams will discuss the creative process and collaborative relation he shared with choreographer Alvin Ailey, which lead to the creation of the ballet Love Songs.
Williams, a New York native, danced simultaneously with the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In 1964 he began dancing exclusively with the Ailey Company, and danced with the company until 2004. During his twenty-five years artistic association with Ailey (until his death in 1989) Williams was a muse and friend.
Out and About NYC Magazine Editor in Chief Walter Rutledge will moderate the conversation. Williams and Rutledge have worked together on different dance projects since 2004. Recently Williams was featured in two works choreographed by Rutledge, 26 Names with music composed and performed by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown; and Goin’ Home, part Solstice Steps, a site-specific dance installation commissioned by Dances For A Variable Population.
A Song For You: An Evening With Dudley Williams is free to the public. A reception will immediately follow and audience member can meet Williams and the other artists who participated in the Peeks performances and the Souls of Our Feet: People of Color Dance Festival. Due to limited seating reservations are suggested to RSVP call Alex Smith, Jr. at 718-875-9710 or email thelmahill@msn.com.
In Photo 1) Dudley Williams 2) Marilyn Banks, Gary DeLoatch, Dudley Williams, Alvin Ailey 3) Walter Rutledge and Dudley Williams
Photo Credit 1) Courtesy Alvin Ailey Foundation 2) unknown 3) Adewale Adekanbi