Love Songs (1972) New Production (2015)

Choreography: Alvin Ailey Restaging: Masazumi Chaya Music Composed by: Leon Russell, Jeremy Wind, Leonard Bleecher, Bobby Scott & Bobby Russell Music Performed by: Donny Hathaway & Nina Simone Costumes: Ursula Reed Lighting: Chenault Spence

"I love you in a place Where there's no space or time... I love you for my life You're a friend of mine..." -Donny Hathaway “A Song for You”

Love Songs, a three-part technical and dramatic tour-de-force originally created for the legendary Dudley Williams, is often viewed as the male counterpart to Cry, the famous woman’s solo that Mr. Ailey originally choreographed for his muse, Judith Jamison. Love Songs, last performed by the Company in 2003, offers a message of hope and commitment as it traces the dancer’s journey through love, anguish, and determination to overcome adversity. The suite opens with Donny Hathaway’s tender “A Song For You,” followed by Nina Simone’s rendition of “A Field of Poppies,” an anti-narcotics song in which the audience witnesses the man’s descent into self-destruction, and closes with Hathaway singing “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother,” as the dancer travels around the stage bearing an imaginary load with resolve. The work gives the male dancer a unique opportunity to display both the power and gentleness of the male dancer while digging deep into all the aspects of his relationships – with himself, his fellow man, his brother.

Donny_Hathaway Donny Hathaway was one of the brightest new voices in soul music in the 1970s, and possessed a smooth, gospel-inflected romantic croon that was also at home on fiery protest material. Hathaway achieved his greatest commercial success as Roberta Flack's duet partner of choice. He was born October 1, 1945, in Chicago, but moved to St. Louis when he was very young, and began singing in church with his grandmother at age three. He began playing piano at a young age, and was awarded a scholarship to Howard University to study music in 1964. He left school after three years to pursue job opportunities in the record industry. Hathaway first worked behind the scenes as a producer, arranger, songwriter, and session pianist/keyboardist. He sang backup for the likes of Aretha Franklin, Jerry Butler, and the Staple Singers, among many others, and joined the Mayfield Singers, a studio backing group that supported Curtis Mayfield's Impressions. By the end of his career, he had released five solo albums in addition to his discs with Flack. Hathaway enjoyed R&B chart success in the early 1970s with several singles. By the mid-‘70s he had formed his own independent production company. His death in 1979 was ruled a suicide.

Nina Simone Nina Simone was one of the most gifted vocalists of her generation, and also one of the most eclectic. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina on February 21, 1933, Simone was a singer, pianist, and songwriter who bent genres to her will rather than allowing herself to be confined by their boundaries. She earned a scholarship to study classic music at the Juilliard School, but began singing jazz in 1954 as a means to support herself. She soon adopted the name Nina Simone, and was headlining nightclubs along the East Coast by 1957. Simone signed a record deal, and enjoyed her first major hit with her interpretation of "I Loves You Porgy" from Porgy and Bess. As she progressed in her career, Simone began addressing issues of social justice in her music. Her success grew significantly in the 1960s, as did her disillusionment with the U.S. government, and she eventually left the country to focus on her European career. She continued to record and tour until 2002, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. When she died of the disease on April 21, 2003, she left a timeless collection of music spanning over four decades and 40 original albums.

Love Songs Music Credit Information

Song: A Song for You Performed by: Donny Hathaway Composed by: Leon Russell Published by: Atlantic Recording Corporation

Song: A Field of Poppies Performed by: Nina Simone Composed by: Jeremy Wind and Leonard Bleecher Published by: Belwin Mills Publishing Corporation

Song: He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother Performed by: Donny Hathaway Composed by: Bobby Russell and Bobby Scott Published by: Atlantic Recording Corporation