Was it a spiritual quest or just a fabulous workout? The Ailey company celebrated its first Lincoln Center season in more than a decade Wednesday with “Four Corners,” a new work by Ronald K. Brown. At the end, it was hard to tell whether you were enlightened or just exhausted.
The piece begins with company stalwart Matthew Rushing backing out of the wings in a crouch. He’s in the midst of a search: shaking his head, looking upward, praying.
The rest of the cast sifts onstage, the women wearing head wraps and boldly patterned dresses. Everyone tears into the turbocharged African movement, dancing to recorded selections ranging from gospel to thumping disco. At one point you even hear the horns play snippets of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”
The moves and the beat sweep on. “Four Corners” leaves you worked up and breathless, but it feels more like a joyride than a journey. Solos segue into quartets or duets, but you could shuffle the order and it wouldn’t make much difference. When the music turns off, it’s over.
The two other works on the program are made of more solid stuff. Jirí Kylián’s “Petite Mort” is part of director Robert Battle’s careful expansion beyond Ailey’s traditional repertory.
“Petite Mort” — a discreet term for an orgasm — is dark and sexy. Six couples dance to Mozart punctuated with low rumbling noises. The women wear tight undergarments and the men are in briefs, balancing swords — which can symbolize anything you like.
The heart of the work is a series of unconventional duets. The men hold the women with their limbs splayed and bent like insects. One rests her back on her partner’s calf before she wraps around him, while another couple buzzes their fingers in tiny movements like the beating of a bee’s wing. It’s a Kama Sutra of shapes.
The evening ended with the company’s signature “Revelations.” The audience never tires of it — and the dancers don’t seem to, either. Keep your eyes peeled: In Wednesday’s encore, the tall and usually serene Alicia Graf Mack cracked up because her partner sneaked in a disco move. “Revelations,” no matter how often you see it, still holds surprises.