Matthew Rushing joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a company member in 1992 and served as Interim Artistic Director from 2023 until this year. At Jacob’s Pillow, he and dancers from the Ailey Extension will present Sacred Songs, A Journey of the Spiritual, commissioned by the Whitney Museum of American Art on the occasion of their groundbreaking exhibition Edges of Ailey. The work resurrects the omitted songs from the original production of Revelations to speak to our present need for lament, faith, and joy.
Rushing is a YoungArts alum, the recipient of a Spotlight Award and a Dance Magazine Award, and was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He has performed in Austria, Canada, France, Italy, and Russia, and for Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, as well as at the 2010 White House Dance Series. In his time with the Ailey company, Rushing has choreographed four ballets: Acceptance In Surrender (2005), a collaboration with Hope Boykin and Abdur-Rahim Jackson; Uptown (2009); ODETTA (2014); and Testament (2020), a collaboration with Clifton Brown and Yusha-Marie Sorzano.
The Ailey Extension trains dancers through open classes taught by renowned instructors for people of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels from beginners to professionals. This two-night engagement complements the week-long run of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and performances of Revelations in the Ted Shawn Theatre. Tickets to indoor performances are sold separately.