At last I experienced the raw power that is Alvin Ailey Dance

For years, YEARS, I've known of the incredible Alvin Ailey dancers and for just as many years, I'd been wanting to see them live. Until finally, my husband got tired of hearing me say how much I wanted to see them and bought me tickets.What a night! The music, the fluidity of the moves, the raw power and intensity, the emotion, all made for one unforgettable and life-altering performance.I'd had this vision built in my mind on what the experience of seeing them would be like and they fulfilled that...and more. I sat (in the next to the last row of the theater but in the center), best friend at my side of course, and was completely transfixed and mesmerized the entire time. How could these dancers be so disciplined to master their craft and then take it to another level. A level I'd never seen achieved before.The choreography was perfection and no matter how long the individual movements were, I found myself wanting more. If they lasted another 10 minutes that was fine. I would have stayed there until midnight.And the costumes were fantastic too. How genius to have the dancers outfitted in form fitting leotards for the more modern pieces and then in bright, colorful, flowing costumes for the others. And the phenomenal lighting effects effortlessly set the mood.The icing on the cake -- the encore when I just could not stop clapping and again, wanted more and seeing hometown hero Robert Battle on stage, at the helm of this troupe, welcoming us all and sharing his touching story of how seeing them perform when he was 12 years old transformed his life.I'll never forget his words nor those dancers leaving it all there on the stage for me to remember forever. I'm getting choked up just thinking about it.