Release Your Inner Dancer With Ailey Celebrating NYC Dance Week With Free Classes

This June, Ailey Extension invites everyone from Harlem to Hollis to celebrate dance onstage and off when NYC Dance Week returns Thursday, June 13 through Saturday, June 22, 2019.

Dance Week coincides with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Lincoln Center engagement June 12-16, 2019. Throughout the annual citywide festival, Ailey Extension will offer over 25 free* dance and fitness classes for adults of all experience levels at The Joan Weill Center for Dance – New York’s largest building dedicated to dance and the official home of Ailey. As a bonus, the entire family can come together on the dance floor during NYC Dance Week for a lively celebration of music, dance, and oral traditions with a free West African Family class with Maguette Camara on Friday, June 14 at 6:30 pm.

Fulfilling Alvin Ailey’s belief that “dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people,” Ailey Extension welcomes NYC Dance Week participants of all levels and backgrounds to learn new techniques, socialize with other New Yorkers, and experience the rich history of Ailey at its official home in the dance capital of the world. During the 10-day celebration, Ailey Extension will offer a diverse array of free dance and fitness classes daily, including Horton (the modern dance technique seen in Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations), Hip-Hop, Ballet, Masala Bhangra, Samba Afro Brazilian, NY Style Mambo, Theater Dance, and Salsa, among others. New students can take up to two participating classes for free, and returning students will receive a free class with the purchase of a 10-class card.

Movers of all ages can join the NYC Dance Week celebration during Ailey Extension’s free West African Family Class with Maguette Camara on Friday, June 14 at 6:30-8pm. Kids and adults can engage in an energizing and uplifting celebration of West African dance and cultural traditions, all accompanied by live djembe and dundun drumming.

In addition to experiencing the magic of Ailey through exciting dance and fitness classes, New Yorkers can celebrate NYC Dance Week with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at Lincoln Center June 12-16. The seven-performance engagement features three distinct programs – Bold Visions, Trailblazers, and Timeless Ailey – which include the world premiere of Darrell Grand Moultrie’s Ounce of Faith and the return of hip-hop pioneer Rennie Harris’ breakout premiere Lazarus. Special performances during the season include The Ailey Spirit Gala benefit celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Ailey School, a special Father’s Day matinee featuring excerpts from over a dozen treasures by Alvin Ailey, and an evening honoring dance-world legend Carmen de Lavallade. For more information on Ailey’s Lincoln Center season, click here.

To view Ailey Extension’s complete NYC Dance schedule, visit www.aileyextension.com/nycdanceweek. New students must present a downloadable NYC Dance Week voucher for all classes at The Ailey Studios, available here.

*New students may take up to (2) free classes; all subsequent classes require payment (2 classes for $38 – Ailey Intro Offer). Returning students will receive a bonus class with the purchase of a 10-class card during this period.

Since its inception in 2005, Ailey Extension has fulfilled Mr. Ailey’s life-long commitment of bringing dance to everyone by offering “real classes for real people.” Ailey Extension offers over 25 different dance and fitness techniques such as Horton, Ballet, Masala Bhangra, West African, Samba, Jazz, Zumba, House and Hip-Hop. Over 135,000 people have taken classes at Ailey’s home, New York’s largest building dedicated to dance, where dancers of all levels and walks of life can learn and be inspired – body, mind, and spirit!

Ailey Extension is located at The Joan Weill Center for Dance (405 West 55th Street at 9th Avenue).

Photo Credit: Tiny Steps at the Ailey Extension. Byy Kyle Froman