This review of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's New Works programme at Sadler's Wells, London, praises a mixed bill that leans on skill, craft and emotional depth rather than avant-garde novelty. While acknowledging the programme could be seen as dated, the critic argues its enduring qualities of beauty and humanity give it lasting appeal, singling out several pieces for particular acclaim.

Highlights include Medhi Walerski's Blink of an Eye, an NDT work from 2011 danced to solo Bach violin music, and Lar Lubovitch's Many Angels, created in 2024 when the choreographer was 81, set to Mahler's Symphony No 5 and evoking a heavenly cloudscape. Jamar Roberts' Song of the Anchorite and Judith Jamison's 2004 duet A Case of You, danced to a Diana Krall cover of Joni Mitchell, explore more interior, emotional territory. The programme closes with Ailey's 1960 classic Revelations, and runs at Sadler's Wells until 19 September.