Beyond the Steps: Alvin Ailey dancers step out in new film

By Charles Hallman
Staff Writer

Award-winning filmmaker Phil Bertelsen’s Beyond the Steps: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater provides a rare glimpse into the fascinating world of modern dance by one of America’s oldest modern dance companies.

Judith Jamison’s 2004 collaboration with Rennie Harris and Robert Battle entitled Love Stories, a three-part production featuring the music of Stevie Wonder, is the foundation of the one-hour film. It is the third in the Documentary Channel’s (DOC) “Black Documentary Cinema” series that is shown on the last Tuesday of every month — Beyond the Steps aired on DOC in April.

The film also features Jamison, who first joined Ailey as a dancer and later became the company’s artistic director, Harris, Battle and several others connected with the company. “I remember the first audition of my life — a dingy little studio with wooden floors, a couple of mirrors — [this] is what I am trying to suggest in the beginning of Love Stories,” she explains in the film.

Admittedly there was some hesitation from the dancers, with Bertelsen’s filming literally their every step as they prepared for Love Stories as well as the company packing up to move to a new location. However, said the filmmaker during a phone interview with the MSR, “Once we had Judith Jamison’s blessing, everything fell in place. She’s no easy sell…to get her trust, the rest of the company would follow.”

Originally aired on PBS, Beyond the Steps stunningly provides a rare glimpse of the world of modern dance. “Ultimately I approached this film as a fan of the company and of dance,” notes Bertelsen. “I’ve long been a fan” of Ailey, admits the filmmaker. He adds that he wants viewers to see “the life of the dancer, and how grueling and physically taxing that life can be — long rehearsals, continuous performances and travel. It sounds romantic but it’s really quite a commitment, both physical and emotional.”

Showing such commitment is Ailey dancer Dwana Adiaha Smallwood, who broke a toe during rehearsals and was told by her doctor that she might miss up to six weeks while it healed. “I don’t want to walk — I want to dance,” she says matter-of-factly in the film, refusing to miss any significant time. “I have nine other toes.”

Matthew Rushing also was featured in Beyond the Steps — he performs a solo in Love Stories, which first premiered in Russia.

In a separate phone interview with the MSR, the Los Angeles native said that he first saw an Ailey performance when his mother took him to one in his hometown as a young teenager. “I fell in love with it there,” he recalls. “Once I saw the company, I decided right then and there, ‘This is the company I want to dance for.’”

As a senior at the city’s high school for the performing arts, Rushing said that he first tried out for the main Ailey group but instead made the cut for the second Ailey group. “I performed with Ailey II for one year, and then I auditioned for the first company, not really expecting to get in but wanting to show Miss Jamison that I was interested.” He made the first company and will celebrate his 19th year with the group in June.

Besides performing around the world numerous times, “I [also] danced for four different [U.S.] presidents,” including President Barack Obama in 2009, continues Rushing. “I remember we performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and we heard word that he [Obama] was coming. Once it was confirmed that President Obama and his family were coming, the whole company was on edge. Everybody was nervous, and we were even peeking from the wings, trying to see into the audience.”

Performing for the nation’s first Black president “was one of the most heartfelt performances I’ve given in my whole career, as well as nerve wracking,” he admits. “Afterwards, he was kind enough to come back with his family and shook everyone’s hands and took pictures with us. It definitely has been the highlight out of the four presidents.”

Although the film didn’t show the entire Love Stories production, several scenes from its premiere in Russia, such as Rushing’s solo performance dancing to Stevie Wonder’s “Fingertips,” were included in the film, along with comments — shown in English subtitles — from some Russian persons who attended the dance.

“These are some people who may have never heard of Stevie Wonder, but you can tell that there was a connection to the music and the dance. I think they both played a huge part in the appeal of the piece,” surmises Rushing, who recently was promoted to audition director. “When you dance with music by Stevie Wonder, you almost can’t go wrong. It wasn’t just the music that we’ve heard for years, but it was presented in a very special way, a new twist to it.”

“I thought [the film] was a great representation of the Ailey company, and it showed Love Stories in a very creative way. I own it [as well],” Rushing adds. “Even a person who doesn’t know much about dance should be able to find something within the film [to like].”

“I would have liked to make a longer film because there is so much material [that didn’t make the final cut]. That was probably my only regret,” says Bertelsen.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre currently is on their North American tour, expecting to perform in 24 U.S. cities before they end up in Chicago in May.

“The tendency is to see the company as an artifact of the past, when in fact it is a very modern company looking forward. I hope that [after seeing his film] people now can see the company in a much more current state,” Bertelsen concludes.

The Documentary Channel is primarily available through Dish Network and DirecTV satellite television services.

Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses to challman@spokesman-recorder.com.