Revelations by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Tonight many African Americans will gather in churches for a traditional Watchnight service. The custom commemorates how African Americans gathered in churches on the New Year’s eve before the enactment of the Emancipation Proclamation (January 1, 1863). The “Wade in the Water” section of acclaimed choreographer Alvin Ailey’s classic work Revelations uses a spiritual associated with the Underground Railroad pays tribute to people who escaped, resisted and endured the national tragedy of slavery. This Watchnight, let’s remember organizing works. Here’s to an emancipating New Year.
The Progress 