Went up to Berkeley last night to see Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform three short ballets. The first two – both recently written – left a bit to be desired. Repetitious, dull choreography paired with imprecise, passionless dance. At least the second piece, a West Coast premiere of a ballet written for the Winter Olympic’s Cultural Olympiad, featured imaginative new music by Wynton Marsalis. At many points, I found myself paying more attention to the music than the dance.

The third piece, Revelations, the classic that put Alvin Ailey on the map in 1958, was quite an experience. Not so much because of the ballet itself (which I’d seen performed before, more solidly, several times in the past), but rather because of the audience. Certainly, Revelations is extremely strong and has aged well – but so has Swan Lake, and the New York City Ballet doesn’t perform that every single year. Ailey Dance, however, has performed Revelations nearly non-stop since the early 60’s, largely to the exclusion of Ailey’s 78 other ballets. The audience certainly didn’t mind – they were whooping and screaming, ready to jump to standing ovation. And that was before the piece even began.

Still, I got the odd sense that they were applauding almost for themselves. Look at me, they were saying. I’m sooooo cultured, I even know a ballet. I suspect most of the audience had never attended the acclaimed San Francisco Ballet just across the bay, and most probably never would. So perhaps Alvin Ailey’s clinging to Revelations is a good thing. Sort of the ballet equivalent of smooth jazz – easy, safe, accessible, and with just a taste of the real thing.