Rushing, who came to dance through an after-school program in Los Angeles that combined dance and musical theatre, has long wanted to expand Sacred Songs, a ballet he created from omitted portions of Alvin Ailey’s masterwork Revelations. After seeing an early production of Revelations as a child, he knew that he wanted to be a professional dancer. “The work was so gripping, so powerful, and spoke to me and my life so directly that I was totally changed.” Rushing joined Alvin Ailey immediately after graduating high school, and three decades later, he discovered Alvin Ailey excised half of the original production of Revelations, including nearly a dozen negro spirituals, to shorten the ballet for touring. 

From those omitted songs, Rushing created Sacred Songs, setting several spirituals to new musical genres and choreography. But he knew the connections with the spirituals needed to be explored more. “I knew I would like to expand on the project if I ever had the opportunity. As a Christian, I’m deeply interested in learning how the faith that exists in these spirituals can be communicated through dance, and I can’t imagine a better place to do that then at Duke Divinity School.” This work will culminate in a new expansion of the ballet called Sacred Songs; Decoding the Spiritual.

Rushing also connected with leadership at Duke University and in Durham's dance community to build a cohort of dancers for the new ballet and build relationship with the community.

Said DITA Associate Director Dr. Daniel Train, “Part of why we were so excited about Mr. Rushing’s project as a theology and arts program is that the medium of dance has been largely understudied in the discipline, which is surprising because a dancer’s way of knowing and being in the world is so integrally embodied, and thus can serve as a model for the body of Christ.

“But the other reason is that Durham has such a rich dance community, and we felt Duke was the perfect place for Mr. Rushing to work on a new production that would bring together people from across the university, local congregations, and the arts community.”

“It is both exciting and important to bring artists like Matthew to Duke,” said Aaron Shackelford, director of programming at Duke Arts. “His residency shows how artists can bring new perspectives to a university. At the same time, it also shows how the community of a top-level research university can help inspire and support artists. Duke Arts looks forward to his return to Durham, and all the ways Mr. Rushing will connect with both our campus and our city.”

Rushing will return in mid-April for a second extended residency surrounding the premiere of the new ballet.

This residency and project were made possible by an artist-in-context grant from the Creative Arts Collective at Belmont University. The Artist-in-Context program seeks to connect artists with churches and institutions with the goal of “Performing Shalom.”

Photo information: Matthew Rushing in Alvin Ailey's Revelations; credit Gert Krautbauer