The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater makes dancing look like magic. When you watch them it’s like a physical manifestation of grace. But, did you ever wonder what inspired them to dance like that?
Answer: Michael Jackson.
Okay, maybe not all the dancers. The King of pop did, however, move Sean Aaron Carmon a dancer going into his fifth season at Ailey.
“Michael Jackson was my very first teacher,” Carmon says via a phone interview. “I was borderline obsessed it got so bad that I would record everything. Remember VHS? I would watch it over and over.”
Is it really that easy? You grab your crotch a few times and you’re in New York?
Um….no!
For Carmon, like many other dancers, the road to being a professional is a combination of talent, support, circumstance, and just luck.
Carmon was born and raised in Beaumont, Texas. His father was very athletic and his parents encouraged him to channel his energy into physical activities.
“I was very much focused on school work,” Carmon says, “but my mom realized I needed to do something more.”
Suddenly Carmon was playing basketball, soccer golf, tennis and running track. He was busy all year round. While commuting back and forth from school to practice, the Carmon family also drove Sean’s cousin to dance class.
“I saw her, doing it (ballet) and the teacher asked me if I wanted to come in,” Carmon says. “I said yes as long as I don’t have to do tap.”
Carmon started in acrobatics and quickly moved through jazz and yes tap. Then at 17 he started ballet – with one caveat.
“As long as I could wear sweat pants,” Carmon says. Being the only boy in the class, he was offered some allowances. The young dancer was taking five classes a week, plus school when one of his teachers showed him Ailey’s Revelations. He didn’t get it right away.
“All I knew was competition dance which was tricks and showmanship. It was a routine. I didn’t understand artistry or quality of movement.” Carmon admits. “My teacher said ‘I think you’ll change your mind.’”
Why are some teachers always right?
Flash forward to this week. Carmon is mentally preparing for performances. The Alvin Ailey company is constantly on tour. And, in case you are wondering, there is no rest time. There are rehearsals, classes and performing for most of the week. Eight shows a week in fact.
When asked about Revelations today, you get a very different answer.
“It’s literally a complete 180 regarding Revelations,” Carmon says. “It’s so strange. I thought I would never want to do it. Now I do it almost 150 times a year. It really did change my life.”
“The first performance I did of Revelations was in Norway. I performed the third day. They put us on stage I remember looking up, my eyes cast up to the rafters, and I knew this is exactly where I wanted to be.”
“I felt completely calm no nervousness, no anxiety, no doubt. It was very clear. It was clarity that there is nowhere else that I was supposed to be except performing Revelations.”
When asked about what he thinks draws people to Ailey’s work and the company, Carmon is quick to offer an answer.
“I think it speaks directly to Mr. Ailey’s directness. He didn’t beat around the bush when it comes to his choreography. He said exactly what he wanted to say. One of my biggest regrets was that I wasn’t afforded the opportunity to meet him.
I ask Carmon to expound on the directness of Ailey’s work.
“It’s so simple and direct in a positive way that you never have to question and I think that is what brings people back. They can’t experience [that] anywhere else. They may not be able to put a finger on it, but they have no doubt that it is a positive experience. They have indeed felt something.”
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