- 14 hours ago
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's leading dancer, Constance Stamatiou, joins Condé Nast Traveler to share what it’s really like to perform around the world with one of the most iconic dance companies in history. From dancing beneath the Acropolis in Greece and dancing for Beyoncé, to being barefoot in the Oval Office, experience the world through the eyes of an Alvin Ailey dancer.
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00:00I'm Constance Stamatiyou, leading dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
00:05I performed in 15 countries around the world and all over the United States.
00:09I'm going to tell you one thing that I loved, learned, and was terrified by in each place.
00:15And the location that made me feel like I was dancing for the gods.
00:20I am Constance Stamatiyou and I am well-traveled.
00:24Beijing. The leading lady is vomiting in the wings.
00:27In Beijing, I am playing a supportive role in Wade in the Water.
00:33The girl who brings out the couple is about to get baptized.
00:37While I am out leading them in, I hear a voice behind me say,
00:42Constance, you got to do Wade Girl.
00:45Wade Girl is the leading lady.
00:47I look behind me, Wade Girl is not there.
00:50And so I just look back and I nod yes, backing up into her place,
00:55and then started doing the Wade Lady's role.
00:58I felt awful she was sick, but I was just so blessed that I got to do a lead role.
01:04Ever since then, I stayed as Wade Girl, the leading lady.
01:09During our downtime, we all got together, hopped on a bus, and went to the Great Wall of China.
01:14It was really interesting because the further I walked up, I could finally see the sun.
01:19I hadn't seen the sun in like a week.
01:21You know, we did photo shoots out there, you know, doing little ballet poses together.
01:25I even got on a camel.
01:29Paris, the most aggressive audience ever.
01:33Paris, we'll let you know.
01:35You might think you're done with the performance, but you are not done.
01:38We need an encore.
01:40Two encores is typical for them, but sometimes three.
01:45Anywhere else, you're getting one, but they are feisty, okay?
01:49They love us, and we love them.
01:52Mr. Ailey always said, dance came from the people and should be given back to the people.
01:56I believe because he choreographed so many pieces based off of his life growing up,
02:01experiencing racism, what it is being raised in a church, what it is to see domestic violence.
02:08He puts all of that into his pieces.
02:10We can go anywhere around the world, and we may not speak the same language, but we do speak dance.
02:16That's why people are able to connect and able to feel what we're trying to say through our movement.
02:24Greece.
02:25I felt like I was dancing for the gods.
02:28We were performing at the Herodias Atticus Theater,
02:32which is this beautiful, ancient outdoor amphitheater right below the Acropolis.
02:37I walk onto the stage.
02:39It is a group of us.
02:41Our formation is like a triangle, a pyramid.
02:44We all, at the same time, put our hands out by our sides and lifting our heads to the sky,
02:50and all you could see was the Acropolis lit up and all the stars in the sky,
02:55and it just, it really did feel like you were dancing for, like, the Greek gods.
03:00Edinburgh.
03:01Dancing on the Hilltops.
03:03We were performing at the Festival Theater during the Fringe Festival.
03:08It's very crowded, very chaotic, but I like to find my way and escape up to the mountaintops.
03:15You have this, like, panoramic 360 view of the city.
03:19I decided to improvise to, like, Center Man.
03:23It's a Nina Simone version.
03:24It was really nice to feel the breeze up there against your skin and the crisp, cool air.
03:30Probably one of my favorite spots that I've ever improvised.
03:34Washington, D.C., 2023.
03:37Girl, we're barefoot in the Oval Office.
03:41One day during our season, we were asked to go perform for the governor's ladies' luncheon.
03:49Oh, it was amazing.
03:51We took lots of pictures, and then we're outside in the lawn, like, where they do, like, the Easter egg hunt.
03:58You know, we're taking pictures.
04:00And then all of a sudden, here comes President Biden out of the Oval Office saying,
04:05Hey, guys, what's up?
04:06Come on in.
04:08And so I looked at my girlfriend, and I said,
04:11Girl, we ain't got on no shoes.
04:14And sure enough, we were barefoot in the Oval Office.
04:18How many people get to say that?
04:19Do you remember what the carpet and the Oval Office felt like?
04:22It's very itchy, wooly, like, hard carpet, you know?
04:27Kennedy Center.
04:28Jacqueline Kennedy actually commissioned Alvin Ailey in 1971 to open the center with his choreography called Maz,
04:36which was set to Leonard Bernstein's music.
04:38There is so much rich history at the Kennedy Center.
04:41We will not be performing there this season, but we are so super excited to be performing at the Warner Theater.
04:48Los Angeles.
04:49Fiance is in the audience with Blue Ivy.
04:53I love L.A. because you never know who's coming.
04:57There was a moment we were performing one year, Winter in Lisbon.
05:02I'm doing a duet with my favorite partner, Yannick LeBron, and there's a moment where we get really close, and I guess it looks like we're kissing.
05:11And I can hear from the side of the stage, Miss Little Blue Ivy say, ew, they're kissing!
05:19And she was probably maybe seven years old at the time, who knows?
05:24But I thought it was adorable.
05:26And she was there with Beyoncé and with Miss Tina Knowles, and I believe they brought like a whole girls club with them, and it was just really an honor to perform in front of them and, you know, to share my love of dance with those kids.
05:41New York City is pressure.
05:42New York City is pressure.
05:44Performing in New York City, everybody and their mama is there.
05:50The dance critics are there, other amazing dancers from other companies are there, Ailey alumni that are there, and then you have a lot of students that are there.
06:02You're trying to show your best because you want to inspire others as well and hopefully get a good review.
06:09I really wish there was a screen out front for you all to see the vibes that are happening backstage before each and every performance in a circle, holding hands,
06:20giving hugs, giving hugs, giving words of inspiration.
06:23We are all in this together.
06:27London, I am scared for my life.
06:30While in London, this is my absolute first stop as a member of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and I was hired by the legendary Judith Jamison.
06:42She pulls me into the stairway for a talk and she says, you're here, you've made it, now what are you going to do?
06:50And I was just like, I got to pull up.
06:55She said I was like a deer in headlights.
06:57No one handed me a rule book, how this place works, what tour life is like, so I really had to pull up.
07:04Sadler Wells is this beautiful theater that we go to every time we're in London.
07:10It is this huge building.
07:13There's this beautiful dance facility.
07:16I remember having my picture, this beautiful black and white picture taken by this long rectangular window.
07:23And it was for a book.
07:25It was for Alia Ascending, A Portrait in Motion by Andrew Eccles.
07:30The moment that I saw my picture in the book was like, oh, I've made it.
07:37I am a part of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
07:40I'm in a book.
07:41Miami, Florida.
07:42I met my husband at a salsa club called Mango's.
07:46When we are on tour in Miami, we go to Mango's.
07:50It's entertaining.
07:50You're seeing dancers on the tables.
07:53There's a DJ.
07:54The music is live.
07:55Really great nachos.
07:56This time, I was with my colleague.
07:59We just got back from Paris.
08:01It was our last night.
08:03We see this really tall, handsome man standing downstairs.
08:06We just started talking and the lights go on.
08:10It's time to go home.
08:11We exchanged numbers.
08:12And literally, I got off the plane the next morning and had a voice message from him.
08:18And we kept in touch ever since and then got married and have two kids.
08:21Look at us.
08:2215 years.
08:24Germany.
08:25I found out I was pregnant on tour.
08:28I was in Germany and just started thinking, hmm, Unflow has not shown up.
08:36So I went next door to the pharmacy, asked for a pregnancy test.
08:41Had no idea what it said on the box, but I knew what those symbols meant.
08:46And it was a plus sign.
08:50So I called my husband.
08:51He was very excited.
08:53I was excited.
08:54I told my director and he sent me, you know, go to the doctor.
08:58Have a checkup.
08:59Make sure you're okay to dance.
09:01Of course, not knowing anything.
09:02Now that I'm two kids in, I know like, yes, you continue your life.
09:07You continue to work out or do whatever active thing that you're doing.
09:10When other people find out, especially guys who have to partner you, they freak out because they don't want to be responsible if you get dropped.
09:20Istanbul.
09:21My first experience performing on a rake stage that feels like you're going downhill.
09:28A typical stage is flat.
09:30The rake stage in Istanbul was probably maybe a little less than a 45 degree angle.
09:37I'm probably being dramatic.
09:39But for that being my first time, it felt steep.
09:43You definitely have to have a sense of body control and body placement.
09:48Otherwise, you're going to be falling out of everything.
09:51No one shared any tricks on how to dance on that stage.
09:55All I did was pray.
09:58Hong Kong.
09:59Bar hopping in Hong Kong surprised me.
10:03I'm sorry.
10:04There was a moment.
10:06We used to say party to the plane.
10:09Okay, look, I was 21.
10:11It was my first tour and my first time going bar hopping, honestly.
10:17This was definitely our last day in Hong Kong.
10:20Some of us made it back.
10:22I made it back to the elevator.
10:23Some made it outside in the grass at the hotel.
10:28And then we made it to the plane.
10:31But we made our flight.
10:32That's the most important thing.
10:35Copenhagen.
10:36Performing in an amusement park.
10:39We're performing in a place called Tivoli Gardens.
10:42It is straight up an amusement park.
10:44They give us tickets too.
10:46You're on these roller coasters.
10:48There's one called the Dragon, which has like all the loops.
10:51We're going on the swings.
10:53And like the death drop, you know, that pulls you all the way up.
10:56You can see like over the tallest like building in Copenhagen.
11:00And then it just drops you and your heart sinks.
11:02You don't know why you go on there, but you do.
11:04And then you try to go to rehearsal, you know, with a little neck pain.
11:08But that's okay because it was worth it.
11:10It's just always such a fun time to be in Tivoli performing.
11:13Because you get to be a kid again.
11:16Italy, the most catcalls I've ever gotten in my life.
11:21We toured Piacenza, Bozzano, and Triste.
11:24It was beautiful.
11:27There were just so many men that would be on the street eyeing you.
11:31And just like whistling at you, you know, trying to get your attention.
11:34They're smiling and, you know, saying, ah, Bella.
11:38And the catcalls aren't coming from just the young men, mostly the older men.
11:46Atlanta.
11:47It is a party.
11:49Performing in Atlanta is one of my favorite places because it is another city where it's
11:55like you don't know who is coming through the door.
11:58One time I was sitting on the side and it was like, hey, Queen Latifah.
12:01But I always find I am hungry when I'm on that stage.
12:06They serve popcorn and like hot dogs.
12:10It is like a movie theater.
12:11I'm hungry while I'm performing smelling all of that food.
12:14But it's one of my favorite theaters in the U.S.
12:17because the ceiling is painted like a dark blue sky with lots of stars.
12:22And it's just really beautiful.
12:24Atlanta is also loud.
12:27These people love to cheer.
12:29They are so engaged with us, especially if we're doing pieces with music that they know
12:35that's more like modern and pop.
12:38They are out there singing with us.
12:39Okay, hooting and hollering.
12:41Atlanta is probably the only place that I know that will sing
12:47to the lyrics of a song that we're performing to.
12:50I love it.
12:51I'm here for it because it gets us excited.
12:55You know, it makes us feel it even more.
12:57Charlotte, North Carolina.
12:59The last stop before the world shut down for the pandemic.
13:02I was fortunate enough to perform in my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.
13:07I was gearing up to perform Cry, the 16-minute masterpiece by Mr. Alvin Ailey.
13:16A birthday gift to his mother.
13:19And he dedicated it to all Black women, especially our mothers, everywhere.
13:23I was just extremely excited to be able to perform this in front of my mom.
13:28I always receive flowers, like a bouquet of roses.
13:31And my daughter brought out the roses to me.
13:34And so it was just a really special moment to be able to perform this ballet
13:40to my mom while being a mom.
13:43She who's to be able to perform this backwards.
13:48She's up to overlaps how you think.
13:49We decided to be able to perform their advantages in that.
13:52For a long week we saw a couple important problems in this event.
13:56She was deeply empowered to sacrificeột...
13:58...and even some imbalance, by a mutual trustee, with some her sister.
14:02In the Army they rust Mutual, don't know who Mehrdad ile.
14:06Colossians are the most iconic Dragosian Hedema.
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