New York, 1958: with the foundation of his company, Alvin Ailey made a statement that could not be ignored. Even before the civil rights movement gathered momentum under Martin Luther King, he positioned himself with his dancers of colour as a counterpoint to the white-dominated dance scene. Since then, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, with its commitment to preserving African American culture and the development of modern dance, has grown into a key cultural ambassador for the USA. At the Festspielhaus, Ailey II presents two exemplary choreographies: Francesca Harper’s Freedom Series (2021) and Robert Battle’s The Hunt (2001), together with Alvin Ailey’s iconic work Revelations (1960).