Ailey II: The Future Is Now

For more than five decades, Ailey II, the second company of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has merged the spirit and energy of the country’s best early-career dance talent with the passion and artistry of today’s most outstanding choreographers.

”I see my mission as preserving our legacy works, but also, [introducing] the emerging voices of today,” says Francesca Harper, the Ailey II Artistic Director who has devoted herself to forging a new path for modern dance—one that’s inclusive, experimental, and transformative.

Founded in 1974 as a bridge between The Ailey School and the professional dance world, the company embodies Alvin Ailey’s pioneering mission to nurture the next generation of talented artists and reach audiences around the world by making dance accessible to all.

From 1974–2012, Ailey II flourished under the leadership of 2025 Dance Teacher Award-winner Sylvia Waters.

In 2021, Harper picked up the mantle. “In terms of my own contributions, I have been experimenting for quite some time with different art forms, immersive work, and film work, and slowly starting to incorporate the new formats of today. That’s what I’m looking towards as we move forward.”

This season, Harper welcomed four new dancers—Kamani Abu, Jada Ammons, Christian Butts, and Adanna Smalls—to join the eight returning members, Carley Cruzat Brooks, Meredith Brown, Jennifer M. Gerken, Xavier Logan, Xhosa Scott, Darion Tuner, Eric J. Vidaña, and Jordyn White.

When it comes to guiding her young dancers, what matters to Harper is “understanding that they come into the space and have unique biographies that have led them here. Mr. Ailey, when he was alive, supported individuality and uniqueness. So that for me feels really important: to uphold this idea that everybody’s different and deserves that kind of respect and attention.”

The advice the veteran dancer and choreographer offers her troupe, but from which all novice creative people can benefit is, “Figure out how you communicate as an artist, as a person; how to navigate in the room, and feel that you have the right to do so.”

Harper has also brought in four emerging and established choreographers. She described finding those with the vision and standards of her esteemed company is quite a process.

“Choreographers have to be driven, and aggressive in pursuing it. To see a choreographer who is really committed to developing their voice is something I look for. I tend to watch the choreographer over a period of two to three years before even thinking about commissioning them. When their work falls out of their comfort zone, that’s when I know they’re ready. For me, that risk taking becomes that determining factor.”

This season’s two dynamic programs will feature Renée I. McDonald’s intense Likes vs Life, a trio depicting the overwhelming pressures of social media in our lives; Rena Butler’s athletically powered In Session, a coming-of-age portrait of young people finding themselves through rebellion and community; former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Ailey II member Chalvar Monteiro’s Berry Dreamin’ set to the music of the late Chuck Berry, and My’Kal Stromile’s endearing Third Person Point of View, an exploration of the yearning and heartache in a non-traditional, three-person relationship.

From his creative hub at the Boston Ballet, Stromile spoke about his eight-year, post-Juilliard journey to Ailey II, and the inspiration for his choreographic work. “I grew up with a lot of Ailey influence. Some of my earliest teachers were members of the company. So, there’s this connection.”

An additional connection happened five years ago, when the award-winning choreographer and Harper worked together. “Fast forward to 2025. Francesca asked if I would make a work for Ailey II.”

The first thing he thought of was relationships, something that most people can connect with. “I wanted to show complexities that weren’t traditional and would take some patience and diligence to work through. How do we balance the individuals inside of this collective? I thought that could be a fascinating and intriguing concept for an audience to try to understand.”

Stromile described pushing himself artistically, taking things a step farther to add a richness and depth to the storytelling. “I gave the choreography a lot of breath to explore and expand what the body could do with that subject matter. The things that I’m trying to express have not been expressed on stage.”

Along with all the new and visionary offerings, the company will also perform Alvin Ailey’s beloved 50-year-old classic, Streams.

Pairing this masterwork with the contemporary program says Harper, “speaks to legacy shaping the future,” and explains that audiences enjoy seeing “the evolution of voices and the influences,” that may be from different times, but are very much the same because they all reflect the mission of Ailey.

Tickets start at $17 and can be purchased at ailey.org/aileyiinyc or by phone at 212-242-0800. The Joyce Theater eight-week limited engagement runs from March 17-22. Following the Wednesday, March 18 performance at 7:30 p.m. there will be a post-show discussion with artists from Ailey II.

Lorraine Duffy Merkl is the author of the novel “The Last Single Woman In New York City.”