The African-American troupe, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, that thrilled a newly democratic SA returns to ‘blow us out of the water’. The American dance company that arrives in South Africa tomorrow with 32 dancers will not be presenting just another dance show.The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, established in 1958 "to bring African-American cultural expression and the American modern dance tradition to the world", and named after its founder, is all about genuinely extraordinary dance.story_article_left1This is not about conceptual manoeuvres no one understands.This is the real thing.Globally acclaimed and boasting US congressional recognition as cultural ambassadors to the world, the dancers are performing in South Africa between performances in Paris and Toronto.Seventeen years ago, choreography and dance in South Africa were embryonic. It was 1998. Democracy was new. This was when the dance company last visited the country. And for many young practitioners it blew the possibilities of dance clean out of the water.Award-winning seasoned choreographer Mamela Nyamza, 39, attests to that. She was one of the thousands of wannabe Alvin Ailey students who auditioned - and she was the one in a thousand to get in.As was veteran dancer Kefiloe Morand, 56, who became hot property for the dance company in 1982."When we saw their technique, we were blown away," Nyamza said. "Ailey changed my life and helped me to grow into the choreographer I am."In South Africa, we have our own dance rhetoric. How do you come up with something new? Ailey will bring a fresh breath of dance to this country. It will be something to see."Morand knew she wanted to be a dancer as an eight-year-old. Nurtured by a supportive mother, she was bruised by the damaging illogic of apartheid and was forced to realise that her skin was deemed too dark for her to train professionally.full_story_image_hright1She suffered various indignities - including having her passport application rejected when she won a music scholarship to study in Germany. In 1976, with the Soweto uprising, "everything stopped, even schooling."Eventually, Morand joined the Federated Union of Black Artists, and was taught by groundbreaking teachers of the time, including Sylvia Glasser, Jill Waterman and Robyn Orlin. Thanks to these Saturday morning classes, she could live her dream and in 1982 was picked for training at Alvin Ailey."The standard of the dance is unbelievable," she said. "While being in America for those four years was not easy, it gave me access to a new world."Market Theatre co-founder Mannie Manim agrees that the company's impeccable work brings new energy to the stage."The company, started by this black man from Texas who fell in love with dance, is something completely different," he said. "I'd been an Ailey fan since 1976, when I got to see them perform in Los Angeles. The company's prowess knocked me out. We were creating the Market Theatre at the time, and I was in the US to meet possible contacts. When I saw Ailey's group perform, I wept from beginning to end. It became my dream to work with them."story_article_left2Manim played a significant role in hosting Ailey's company on its first visit to South Africa. "Seventeen years later, I'm on board again." This time, Manim is a consultant on the project's enormous outreach programme, which aims to bring the company to many formal and informal dance platforms in Cape Town and Johannesburg.The company will perform two different programmes in South Africa, each culminating with a performance of its signature piece, Revelations.First performed in 1960, the work is set to American spirituals and blues and tells of African-American faith and determination, from slavery to freedom.According to the company's website, more people have seen Revelations than any other modern dance work - more than 23million people in 71 countries.Other works that will be performed include Exodus, a new work that mixes hip-hop with gospel and house music, and Night Creature, which celebrates Duke Ellington's music.The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is at Montecasino, Johannesburg, from September 3-13, and at Artscape, Cape Town, from September 16-20...