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Seven dancers in white tank tops and black pants perform on stage, with some raising one leg high and others in different poses, against a red background.

Repertory

Toccata

COMPANIES

CHOREOGRAPHER

COMPANY PREMIERE

1969

WORLD PREMIERE

1960

RESTAGING

Masazumi Chaya

MUSIC

Lalo Schifrin; performed by Dizzy Gillespie and his Orchestra

COSTUMES

Matthew Cameron

ORIGINAL LIGHTING

Nicola Cernovitch

LIGHTING

Chenault Spence

RUN TIME

12 Minutes

This high-spirited romp—a section from Talley Beatty’s longer work, Come and Get the Beauty of It Hot—evokes the energy of the city streets, illuminating his genius for using the jazz idiom to its fullest expressive and musical effect. Set to music by Grammy Award-winning Argentine composer Lalo Schifrin, the piece contains ensembles, duets, and trios that are danced in an almost declamatory manner as the dancers project their movements toward the audience and seldom toward each other.

A group of dancers in white tank tops and black pants perform on stage, each lifting one leg high in a synchronized pose, against a red background.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Talley Beatty's Toccata Photo by Paul Kolnik

Three dancers in white tank tops and black pants perform on stage, with one lunging forward, another lifting a leg high, and the third extending an arm gracefully, against a red background.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Talley Beatty's Toccata Photo by Paul Kolnik

Seven dancers in white tank tops and black pants perform on stage, with some raising one leg high and others in different poses, against a red background.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Talley Beatty's Toccata Photo by Paul Kolnik

Five dancers in white tank tops and black pants perform on stage, each lifting one leg high in a graceful ballet pose, with a blue background.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Talley Beatty's Toccata Photo by Paul Kolnik