“Fix Me Jesus” is one of my favorite Negro spirituals because it speaks to my heart’s desire. Only Jesus Christ can fix us. This particular performance is very special to me and a goldmine because it is performed by Wings Over Jordan of Cleveland, Ohio founded by Reverend Glenn T. Settle, former pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church and The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. July 2019, our own Aujia Bogarty had the pleasure of dancing with the Duffy Liturgical Dance Ensemble at different venues in New York City including The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. Several of us who traveled with the dance ensemble enjoyed the private masterclass in which Mrs. Duffy’s students participated. These students had a golden opportunity to learn from an Alvin Ailey professional dance teacher. Memories like these are priceless.

Revelations

Using African American spirituals, song-sermons, gospel songs and holy blues, Alvin Ailey’s Revelations fervently explores the places of deepest grief and holiest joy in the soul.

More than just a popular dance work, it has become a cultural treasure, beloved by generations of fans. Seeing Revelations for the first time or the hundredth can be a transcendent experience, with audiences cheering, singing along and dancing in their seats from the opening notes of the plaintive “I Been ’Buked” to the rousing “Wade in the Water” and the triumphant finale, “Rock-a My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham.”

Ailey said that one of America’s richest treasures was the African American cultural heritage—“sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.” This enduring classic is a tribute to that tradition, born out of the choreographer’s “blood memories” of his childhood in rural Texas and the Baptist Church. But since its premiere in 1960, the ballet has been performed continuously around the globe, transcending barriers of faith and nationality, and appealing to universal emotions, making it the most widely seen modern dance work in the world.

(Above taken from www.alvinailey.org) Listen to and view a performance of “Fix Me Jesus” as sung by Wings Over Jordan and performed by The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater from Revelations. https://youtu.be/4CXk1mQVCgI