Free Dance Classes with Ailey at The Whitney Museum for Second Sundays on September 8

Ailey Extension Revelations Dance Workshop led by Linda Celeste Sims, hosted with the Whitney Museum in Gansevoort Plaza on July 23, 2024. Photograph by Filip Wolak

An incredible suite of performances accompany the Edges of Ailey exhibition at the Whitney this fall. Don’t miss the chance to reserve performance tickets beginning Tuesday, September 10!

The Whitney Museum of American Art and AILEY celebrate the upcoming exhibition Edges of Ailey with free outdoor dance classes at the Museum on Sunday, September 8. Dancers of all ages and abilities are invited to join Ailey Extension instructor and former Company member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Amos Machanic to learn excerpts from Alvin Ailey’s timeless signature masterpiece Revelations. Classes are offered in front of the Museum at 12 pm and 2 pm in advance of Edges of Ailey performance tickets going on sale September 10. Registration is not required to participate; space is limited.

Since its premiere in 1960, Revelations has been performed continuously around the globe, transcending barriers of faith and nationality, and appealing to universal emotions, making it one of the most recognized ballets in the world. These special dance classes coincide with the Whitney’s ongoing Free Second Sundays initiative, which provides all visitors with free admission to the Museum on the second Sunday of every month.

Performance tickets for Edges of Ailey, a once-in-a-lifetime showcase of art, dance, history, and music through the lens of Alvin Ailey, go on sale Tuesday, September 10. To reserve performance tickets, please visit whitney.org/exhibitions/edges-of-ailey.

On Sunday, September 8, Free Second Sundays continue with free admission at the Whitney for all visitors from 10:30 am–6 pm. Celebratory free dance classes led by Ailey Extension instructor Amos Machanic take place in front of the Whitney Museum at 12 pm and 2 pm. From 11 am–2 pm, get creative with Whitney Museum educators in the 8th-floor galleries for Drawing in the Grove surrounded by the sights and aromas of the Harrisons’ Survival Piece #5: Portable Orchard. Explore the indoor citrus grove of eighteen live trees, then grab a gallery stool and art supplies to create drawings of the orchard. Participate in a hands-on workshop with GrowNYC to discover the connections between food sovereignty, climate action, and community organizing. Workshop sessions are offered at 11am–1 pm and 3–5 pm; this program is designed for visitors ages fifteen and up and registration is required. From 11 am–4 pm, visitors of all ages are invited to join Slow Down and Sketch: Still Life from Nature, a family friendly artmaking program led by artist Gabriela Salazar in the Museum’s theater. Get inspired by Portable Orchard and take a closer look at objects that grow on trees. Study the branches, leaves, blossoms, and fruit and recreate the organic forms with drawing materials and invisible ink made from lemons. Free storytimes with librarians from The New York Public Library will take place in the lobby at 11 am, 1 pm, and 3 pm. More information about the September 8 programs can be found at whitney.org/visit/second-sundays.

While general admission to the Whitney is free on Sunday, September 8, tickets are still required, and capacity is limited. Advance booking is strongly recommended, and Museum tickets can be reserved at whitney.org/admission.

Edges of Ailey Performance and Exhibition Tickets
Starting Tuesday, September 10, visitors can purchase performance tickets for Edges of Ailey on whitney.org. A special member presale will begin on September 5. Performance tickets include same-day access to the exhibition. Performances take place in the Museum’s theater, and space is limited. Timed tickets for the in-gallery exhibition Edges of Ailey, on view September 25, 2024–February 9, 2025, are currently available at whitney.org/admission. Member previews run from September 19–23. More exhibition and performance information can be found on whitney.org/exhibitions/edges-of-ailey.

Free Admission Offerings at the Whitney
Free Second Sundays at the Whitney help connect more people to the Museum and its mission of celebrating contemporary American art and artists. Second Sundays is made possible by a generous three-year grant from the Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All Program, which supports increased access to museums across the country and fosters engagement with local communities by focusing on common barriers to access. The program and another Whitney initiative, Free Friday Nights, both aim to reduce barriers to access, removing admission fees and offering programs that are entry points for anyone interested in visiting.

PROGRAM SUPPORT

Free Friday Nights are generously supported by Jen Rubio and Stewart Butterfield and Paul Arnhold and Wes Gordon.

Generous support for Second Sundays is provided by Art Bridges Foundation’s Access for All program.

ABOUT THE WHITNEY

The Whitney Museum of American Art, founded in 1930 by the artist and philanthropist Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), houses the foremost collection of American art from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Mrs. Whitney, an early and ardent supporter of modern American art, nurtured groundbreaking artists when audiences were still largely preoccupied with the Old Masters. From her vision arose the Whitney Museum of American Art, which has been championing the most innovative art of the United States for ninety years. The core of the Whitney’s mission is to collect, preserve, interpret, and exhibit American art of our time and serve a wide variety of audiences in celebration of the complexity and diversity of art and culture in the United States. Through this mission and a steadfast commitment to artists, the Whitney has long been a powerful force in support of modern and contemporary art and continues to help define what is innovative and influential in American art today.

Whitney Museum Land Acknowledgment
The Whitney is located in Lenapehoking, the ancestral homeland of the Lenape. The name Manhattan comes from their word Mannahatta, meaning “island of many hills.” The Museum’s current site is close to land that was a Lenape fishing and planting site called Sapponckanikan (“tobacco field”). The Whitney acknowledges the displacement of this region’s original inhabitants and the Lenape diaspora that exists today.

As a museum of American art in a city with vital and diverse communities of Indigenous people, the Whitney recognizes the historical exclusion of Indigenous artists from its collection and program. The Museum is committed to addressing these erasures and honoring the perspectives of Indigenous artists and communities as we work for a more equitable future. To read more about the Museum’s Land Acknowledgement, visit the Museum’s website.

ABOUT AILEY

Founded by Alvin Ailey in 1958 and forged during a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater uplifts the African American experience while transcending boundaries of race, faith, and nationality with its universal humanity. Recognized as a vital “American Cultural Ambassador to the World,” it is one of the most acclaimed dance companies worldwide having performed in more than seventy countries on six continents. The AILEY organization also includes Ailey II (1974), a second performing company of emerging young dancers and innovative choreographers; The Ailey School (1969), one of the most extensive dance training programs in the world; Ailey Arts In Education & Community Programs (1992), which brings dance into a wide range of classrooms and communities of all ages, and lives of people of all ages; and Ailey Extension (2005), offering dance and fitness classes to the general public, which began with the opening of AILEY’s permanent home in New York City—The Joan Weill Center for Dance—the nation’s largest building dedicated to dance. For more information, visit alvinailey.org.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to New York City Center December 4‐ January 5, with its annual, five‐week holiday season celebrating Legacy in Motion. The Company’s extraordinary dancers will bring to life world premieres and new productions by a number of choreographers for whom Alvin Ailey paved the way, including the 25th anniversary of Ronald K. Brown’s blockbuster Grace, a rapturous work in which the secular and sacred meet, connecting African and American dance. Tickets on sale September 10. A national tour to over 20 cities will follow, February – May 2025. For further info, email: aileypress@alvinailey.org

VISITOR INFORMATION

The Whitney Museum of American Art is located at 99 Gansevoort Street between Washington and West Streets, New York City. Public hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, 10:30 am–6 pm; Friday, 10:30 am–10 pm; and Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 am–6 pm. Closed Tuesday. Visitors eighteen years and under and Whitney members: FREE. The Museum offers FREE admission and special programming for visitors of all ages every Friday evening from 5–10 pm and on the second Sunday of every month.