Since its now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has grown from a small group of African American dancers to a revolutionary company that transcends barriers and celebrates the African American cultural experience. In 2008, a U.S. Congressional resolution designated the company as “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world.” Under the decade-long leadership of its visionary artistic director Robert Battle, the company continues to honor the monumental legacy of its founder, while expanding the Ailey repertory and developing the next generation of choreographers. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will perform different programs of mixed repertory, which all conclude with its enduring classic Revelations, beloved by generations of fans. Using African American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues, Revelations fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul. Seeing Revelations for the first time or the hundredth is a transcendent experience.