95-825: Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ( AAADT ) is the largest modern dance company in the United States. Based in New York City , the company was founded by Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), a noted choreographer and dancer. The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, which includes AAADT and Ailey II, the Ailey School, Ailey Extension, AileyCamp, and other operations,
190-516: A June 2018 governmental reorganization plan, the Donald Trump administration proposed turning USPS into "a private postal operator" which could save costs through measures like delivering mail fewer days per week, or delivering to central locations instead of door to door. There was strong bipartisan opposition to the idea in Congress. In April 2020, Congress approved a $ 10 billion loan from
285-943: A board member its new parent, XPO Logistics , whose postal contracts expanded during DeJoy's postmaster general role—was a major donor and fundraiser for the Republican Party (from 2017, a deputy finance chairman of the Republican National Committee , until appointed postmaster general, and later million-dollar donor to the 2020 Trump campaign while postmaster general). DeJoy immediately began taking measures to reduce costs, such as banning overtime and extra trips to deliver mail. While DeJoy admitted that these measures were causing delays in mail delivery , he said they would eventually improve service. More than 600 high-speed mail sorting machines were scheduled to be dismantled and removed from postal facilities, raising concerns that mailed ballots for
380-434: A characteristic trait, and Butoh , Japanese contemporary dancing that developed in the 1950s. It incorporates modern European influences, via the work of pioneers like Isadora Duncan. According to Treva Bedinghaus, "Modern dancers use dancing to express their innermost emotions, often to get closer to their inner-selves. Before attempting to choreograph a routine, the modern dancer decides which emotions to try to convey to
475-573: A heightened sense of awareness of being grounded to the floor while, at the same time, feeling the energy throughout your entire body, extending it to the audience. Her principal contributions to dance are the focus of the 'center' of the body (as contrast to ballet's emphasis on limbs), coordination between breathing and movement , and a dancer's relationship with the floor. In 1927, newspapers regularly began assigning dance critics, such as Walter Terry, and Edwin Denby , who approached performances from
570-633: A high number of packages, and an electric delivery vehicle produced in partnership with Canoo that is a "pod-like" smaller van. The Department of Defense and the USPS jointly operate a postal system to deliver mail for the military ; this is known as the Army Post Office (for Army and Air Force postal facilities) and the Fleet Post Office (for Navy , Marine Corps , and Coast Guard postal facilities). In fiscal year 2022,
665-483: A larger space for rehearsals, school performances, production materials, and offices. The board of trustees established a campaign steering committee to identify potential major donors. Joan Weill, who served fourteen years as chairwoman of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, and her husband, Sandy Weill , co-chaired the building capital campaign, and donated a total of eighteen million dollars to
760-483: A lead gift of sixteen million dollars to the campaign. In 2021, AAADT received a twenty million dollar gift from MacKenzie Scott to support its "Dancing Forward" initiatives. In 2024, the Whitney Museum unveiled "Edges of Ailey," the first major museum exhibition to survey the artistry of Alvin Ailey and AAADT. In November 2024, AAADT announced that Alicia Graf Mack , a former Alvin Ailey company member and
855-546: A monopoly on traditional letter delivery within the U.S. and operates under a universal service obligation (USO), both of which are defined across a broad set of legal mandates, which obligate it to provide uniform price and quality across the entirety of its service area. The Post Office has exclusive access to letter boxes marked "U.S. Mail" and personal letterboxes in the U.S., but has to compete against private package delivery services, such as United Parcel Service , FedEx , and DHL . The first national postal agency in
950-536: A partnership as part of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ Year of the Youth initiative. The Ailey Extension was created in 2005. Ailey Extension offers instruction in more than 25 different dance and fitness techniques, including Ballet, Hip-Hop, Horton, House, Jazz, Masala Bhangra, Samba, West African, and Zumba. Since 2005, the Ailey organization has been headquartered at the Joan Weill Center for Dance, which
1045-461: A plan to close about 3,700 small post offices. Various representatives in Congress protested, and the Senate passed a bill that would have kept open all post offices farther than 10 miles (16 km) from the next office. In May 2012, the service announced it had modified its plan. Instead, rural post offices would remain open with reduced retail hours (some as little as two hours per day) unless there
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#17327796652171140-418: A prominent dance company and global arts institution, has performed for audiences around the world. The following is a sample of significant AAADT performances, residencies, and tours: Alvin Ailey created seventy-nine dances for the company that bears his name. He maintained that the company was not solely a repository for his choreography, and sought the contributions from other choreographers. Today, AAADT has
1235-473: A repertory of nearly three hundred works by more than one hundred choreographers, including: The company keeps Alvin Ailey's works, including Revelations (1960), Night Creature (1974) and Cry (1971), in continuous performance. Memoria was one of Alvin Ailey's balletic pieces, with long lines and a clear technical style different from his usual jazz character style of swirling patters, strong, driving arm movements, huge jumps, and thrusting steps. This dance
1330-555: A state-by-state analysis concluded that 76% of Americans were eligible to vote by mail in 2020, a record number. The analysis predicted that 80 million ballots could be cast by mail in 2020 – more than double the number in 2016. The Postal Service sent letters to 46 states in July 2020, warning that the service might not be able to meet each state's deadlines for requesting and casting last-minute absentee ballots. The House of Representatives voted to include an emergency grant of $ 25 billion to
1425-402: Is Revelations (1960). The legacy of modern dance can be seen in lineage of 20th-century concert dance forms. Although often producing divergent dance forms, many seminal dance artists share a common heritage that can be traced back to free dance. Postmodern dance developed in the 1960s in United States when society questioned truths and ideologies in politics and art . This period
1520-438: Is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was considered to have been developed as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet , and also a way to express social concerns like socioeconomic and cultural factors. In
1615-691: Is eligible to participate in Title IV programs. In 1998, the Ailey School and Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), Fordham University launched a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree program. The program is recognized as one of the preeminent BFA dance programs in the country. In 1989, Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey is founded and develops into the national AileyCamp program. By 2016, AileyCamp expanded to ten cities: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Berkeley/ Oakland, CA; Chicago, IL; Kansas City, KS; Kansas City, MO; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Newark, NJ; and Seattle/Tacoma, WA. In 2023, AileyCamp Atlanta launches
1710-405: Is housed in the 87,000 square-foot Joan Weill Center for Dance, one of the largest buildings dedicated exclusively to dance in the United States. AAADT is recognized as a vital American cultural ambassador , and has performed for diverse audiences in more than seventy countries around the world. In 1958, Alvin Ailey and a group of young Black modern dancers performed as "Alvin Ailey and Company" at
1805-413: Is now being delivered in two days instead of one. Large commercial mailers can still have first-class mail delivered overnight if delivered directly to a processing center in the early morning, though as of 2014 this represented only 11% of first-class mail. Unsorted first-class mail will continue to be delivered anywhere in the contiguous United States within three days. In July 2011, the USPS announced
1900-497: Is projected to raise approximately $ 50 million per year. (Shipping alcoholic beverages is currently illegal under 18 U.S.C. § 1716 (f).) In 2014, the Postal Service was requesting reforms to workers' compensation, moving from a pension to defined contribution retirement savings plan, and paying senior retiree health care costs out of Medicare funds, as is done for private-sector workers. As part of
1995-465: Is the peak period for the Postal Service, representing a total volume of 11.7 billion packages and pieces of mail during this time in 2022. The USPS operates one of the largest civilian vehicle fleets in the world, with over 235,000 vehicles as of 2024, the majority of which are the distinctive and unique Chevrolet / Grumman LLV (long-life vehicle), and the similar, newer Ford-Utilimaster FFV ( flexible-fuel vehicle ), originally also referred to as
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#17327796652172090-554: The 92nd Street Y in New York. Ailey was the company's director, choreographer, and principal dancer. The company started as an ensemble of seven dancers, including Nat Horne, Minnie Marshall, Ella Thompson Moore, and Dorene Richardson, "the only dancer who performed in Alvin Ailey’s two concerts (1958 and 1960) at the 92nd Street Y." In addition to Ailey, the original company worked with guest choreographers in addition to Ailey. For
2185-503: The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 forgave the previous $ 10 billion loan. Voting by mail has become an increasingly common practice in the United States, with 25% of voters nationwide mailing their ballots in 2016 and 2018. The coronavirus pandemic of 2020 was predicted to cause a large increase in mail voting because of the possible danger of congregating at polling places. For the 2020 election,
2280-784: The Environmental Protection Agency and an environmental lawsuit, and also due to availability of new funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 . The Act included $ 3 billion for electric USPS vehicles, supporting the initiative by Postmaster General DeJoy and the Biden Administration to add 66,000 electric vehicles to the fleet by 2028. The electric fleet will be composed of 9,250 EVs manufactured by Ford ; 11,750 commercial off-the-shelf EVs; and 45,000 Oshkosh Next Generation Delivery Vehicles . In February 2023,
2375-593: The Late Modern period ( c. 1946–1957), José Limón , Pearl Primus , Merce Cunningham , Talley Beatty , Erick Hawkins , Anna Sokolow , Anna Halprin , and Paul Taylor introduced clear abstractionism and avant-garde movements, and paved the way for postmodern dance . Modern dance has evolved with each subsequent generation of participating artists. Artistic content has morphed and shifted from one choreographer to another, as have styles and techniques. Artists such as Graham and Horton developed techniques in
2470-624: The National Rural Letter Carriers' Association (NRLCA) was contacted for its input on the USPS's current study of the effect of five-day delivery along with developing an implementation plan for a five-day service plan. A team of Postal Service headquarters executives and staff was given a time frame of sixty days to complete the study. The current concept examines the effect of five-day delivery with no business or collections on Saturday, with Post Offices with current Saturday hours remaining open. On Thursday, April 15, 2010,
2565-584: The New York City Center . In 1974, AAADT had their State Theater at Lincoln Center debut. The program featured Ailey's “Feast of Ashes,” Talley Beatty 's “The Road of the Phoebe Snow,” John Butler's “Portrait of Billie” revival, the premiere of John Jones's “Nocturne,” and Joyce Trisler 's “Journey.” In 1977, the company performed at President Jimmy Carter ’s inauguration gala. In 1988, AAADT hosted its 30th-anniversary season gala at
2660-472: The November 3 election might not reach election offices on time. Mail collection boxes were removed from the streets in many cities; after photos of boxes being removed were spread on social media, a postal service spokesman said they were being moved to higher traffic areas but that the removals would stop until after the election. The inspector general for the postal service opened an investigation into
2755-575: The Oprah Winfrey Foundation pledged one million dollars to endow a student scholarship at the Ailey School. In 2005, the Ailey organization, including the main company, Ailey II, and the Ailey School, moved into its new West 55th Street home, the Joan Weill Center for Dance, the former WNET-TV studios where AAADT first appeared on television in the early 1960s. In 2008, Glorya Kaufman donated six million dollars to AAADT's educational programs, including support for AileyCamp programs,
2850-624: The Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute . Alvin Ailey studied under Lester Horton , Bella Lewitzky , and later Martha Graham. He spent several years working in both concert and theater dance. In 1958, Ailey and a group of young African-American dancers performed as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York . He drew upon his "blood memories" of Texas , the blues, spirituals and gospel as inspiration. His most popular and critically acclaimed work
2945-718: The Post Office , U.S. Mail , or simply the Postal Service , is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the United States, its insular areas and associated states . It is one of a few government agencies explicitly authorized by the Constitution of the United States . As of 2023, the USPS has 525,469 career employees and 114,623 non-career employees. The USPS has
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - Misplaced Pages Continue
3040-414: The $ 30 billion delivery budget; door-to-door city delivery costs annually on average $ 353 per stop, curbside $ 224, and cluster box $ 160 (and for rural delivery, $ 278, $ 176, and $ 126, respectively). S.1486, also with the support of Postmaster General Donahoe, would also allow the USPS to ship alcohol in compliance with state law, from manufacturers to recipients with ID to show they are over 21. This
3135-509: The 2010s. In 2012, in order to be able to meet obligations for payroll and continuing its operations, the Postal Service defaulted on payments due for retirements benefits in August and again in September that year. In September 2014, it defaulted on the payments for the fourth time, and continued to default into 2017. The Postal Service sought financial reforms from Congress for relief from
3230-595: The 20th century, sociopolitical concerns, major historical events, and the development of other art forms contributed to the continued development of modern dance in the United States and Europe. Moving into the 1960s, new ideas about dance began to emerge as a response to earlier dance forms and to social changes. Eventually, postmodern dance artists would reject the formalism of modern dance, and include elements such as performance art , contact improvisation , release technique , and improvisation. American modern dance can be divided (roughly) into three periods or eras. In
3325-480: The 50th Anniversary of the first performance of the Ailey classic Revelations . That same year, Robert Battle , artistic director (2011-2023), established a New Directions Choreography Lab to nurture emerging artists. In 2014, AAADT kicks off a fifty million dollar capital campaign, "Campaign for Ailey's Future," to support artistic, educational, and building expansion projects, and to honor outgoing board chair Joan Weill. Sandy Weill , Joan Weill's husband, provided
3420-539: The Ailey School relocated to four new studios in a building on Broadway . The Ailey School was established in 1969, the same year the company moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music . The Ailey School is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD). The school is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an institution of higher education and
3515-737: The Ailey School, and Ailey's BFA program with Fordham University. The fifth floor lobby in the Weill Center for Dance is named in Kaufman's honor. Also in 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution officially designating the company a "vital American Cultural Ambassador to the World." In 2011, the United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing the artistic and cultural contributions of AAADT and
3610-555: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed at Broadway's Billy Rose Theater . In 1970, the Ailey company and school relocated to 229 East 59th Street in Manhattan, a renovated church building. In April of that year, a financial crisis caused Ailey to issue a statement that the dissolution of the company might take place. The crisis abated, however, and in 1971 AAADT made its first performance at
3705-510: The American Postal Workers Union's arguments that these counters should be staffed by postal employees who earn far more and have "a generous package of health and retirement benefits". On January 28, 2009, Postmaster General John E. Potter testified before the Senate that, if the Postal Service could not readjust its payment toward the contractually funding earned employee retiree health benefits, as mandated by
3800-744: The CRV (carrier route vehicle). The LLVs were built from 1987 to 1994 and lack air conditioning, airbags, anti-lock brakes, and space for the large modern volume of e-commerce packages, the Grumman fleet ended its expected 24-year lifespan in fiscal year 2017. The LLV replacement process began in 2015, and after numerous delays, a $ 6 billion contract was awarded in February 2021 to Oshkosh Defense to finalize design and produce 165,000 vehicles over 10 years. The Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV), will have both gasoline and battery electric versions. Half of
3895-488: The Central Modern Period that are still taught worldwide and numerous other types of modern dance exist today. Modern dance is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet , although historians have suggested that socioeconomic changes in both the United States and Europe helped to initiate shifts in the dance world. In America, increasing industrialization ,
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - Misplaced Pages Continue
3990-479: The City Center. The company and school are located at 45th Street and Broadway, and move the following year into a 36,000 square-foot space at 211 West 61st Street in Manhattan. In 1989, Alvin Ailey died from AIDS-related complications . Judith Jamison, who rejoined AAADT in 1989, replaced Ailey as the artistic director of AAADT. The company was struggling with mounting debts, and the number of company dancers
4085-687: The Early Modern period ( c. 1880–1923), characterized by the work of Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis , Ted Shawn , and Eleanor King , artistic practice changed radically, but clearly distinct modern dance techniques had not yet emerged. In the Central Modern period ( c. 1923–1946), choreographers Martha Graham , Doris Humphrey , Katherine Dunham , Charles Weidman , and Lester Horton sought to develop distinctively American movement styles and vocabularies, and developed clearly defined and recognizable dance training systems. In
4180-588: The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing to examine the status of the Postal Service and recent reports on short and long-term strategies for the financial viability and stability of the USPS entitled "Continuing to Deliver: An Examination of the Postal Service's Current Financial Crisis and its Future Viability". At which, PMG Potter testified that by 2020, the USPS cumulative losses could exceed $ 238 billion, and that mail volume could drop 15 percent from 2009. In February 2013,
4275-610: The House and the Senate; President Joe Biden signed the bill into law on April 6, 2022. Congress has limited rate increases for First-Class Mail to the cost of inflation, unless approved by the Postal Regulatory Commission . A three-cent surcharge above inflation increased the 1 oz (28 g) rate to 49¢ in January 2014, but this was approved by the commission for two years only. As of July 14th, 2024
4370-479: The November election. He said he would reinstate overtime hours, roll back service reductions, and halt the removal of mail-sorting machines and collection boxes. However, 95 percent of the mail sorting machines that were planned for removal had already been removed, and according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , DeJoy said he has no intention of replacing them or the mail collection boxes. On December 27, 2020,
4465-676: The Post Office Department, during the Cold War, to redesign stamps to include more patriotic slogans. On March 18, 1970, postal workers in New York City—upset over low wages and poor working conditions, and emboldened by the Civil Rights Movement— organized a strike . The strike initially involved postal workers in only New York City, but it eventually gained support of over 210,000 postal workers across
4560-486: The Postal Accountability & Enhancement Act of 2006, the USPS would be forced to consider cutting delivery to five days per week during June, July, and August. H.R. 22, addressing this issue, passed the House of Representatives and Senate and was signed into law on September 30, 2009. However, Postmaster General Potter continued to advance plans to eliminate Saturday mail delivery. On June 10, 2009,
4655-645: The Postal Service announced its purchase of the Ford EVs as well as 14,000 electric vehicle charging stations. The fleet electrification plan is part of the Postal Service's initiative to reduce carbon emissions from fuel and electricity 40 percent and emissions from contracted services 20 percent by 2030. In August 2024, the USPS deployed the first new vehicles from its fleet modernization project at its Topeka Sorting and Delivery Center in Kansas, including: an electric vehicle with higher clearance for routes delivering
4750-557: The Postal Service contribution to the Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). Most other employees that contribute to the CSRS have 7% deducted from their wages. Currently, all new employees contribute into Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS) once they become a full-time regular employees. Running low on cash, in order to continue operations unaffected and continue to meet payroll, the USPS defaulted for
4845-480: The Postal Service had $ 78.81 billion in revenue and expenses of $ 79.74 billion. Due to one-time appropriations authorized by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 , the agency reported a net income of $ 56.04 billion. In the 2023 fiscal, revenue had increased to $ 79.32 billion, but reported a net loss of $ 6.48 billion. In 2016, the USPS had its fifth straight annual operating loss, in
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#17327796652174940-533: The Postal Service to offer some non-mail services. As of 2023, the Postal Service operates 33,641 Post Office and contract locations in the U.S., and delivered a total of 127.3 billion packages and pieces of mail to 164.9 million delivery points in fiscal year 2022. USPS delivers mail and packages Monday through Saturday as required by the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 ; on Sundays only Priority Express and packages for Amazon.com are delivered. The USPS delivers packages on Sundays in most major cities. During
5035-577: The Treasury to the post office. According to The Washington Post , officials under Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested using the loan as leverage to give the Treasury Department more influence on USPS operations, including making them raise their charges for package deliveries, a change long sought by President Trump. In May 2020, in a controversial move, the Board of Governors of
5130-486: The U.S. Postal Service, and took effect on July 1, 1971. Among the changes from the Postal Reorganization Act, a key aspect was the requirement for the USPS to be self-financing, which introduced a conflict with its other requirement to provide a nationwide service. The next major legislation affecting the service, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, was passed in 2006. This act limited
5225-956: The US, known as the United States Post Office was founded by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia on July 26, 1775, at the beginning of the American Revolution . Benjamin Franklin was appointed the first postmaster general ; he also served a similar position for the American colonies. The Post Office Department was created in 1792 with the passage of the Postal Service Act . The appointment of local postmasters
5320-586: The USPS announced that in order to save about $ 2 billion per year, Saturday delivery service would be discontinued except for packages, mail-order medicines, Priority Mail, Express Mail, and mail delivered to Post Office boxes, beginning August 10, 2013. However, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 , passed in March, reversed the cuts to Saturday delivery. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) obligated
5415-402: The USPS operated 673 facilities. ) As of May 2012, the plan was to start the first round of consolidation in summer 2012, pause from September to December, and begin a second round in February 2014; 80% of first-class mail would still be delivered overnight through the end of 2013. New delivery standards were issued in January 2015, and the majority of single-piece (not presorted) first-class mail
5510-526: The USPS to fund the present value of earned retirement obligations (essentially past promises which have not yet come due) within a ten-year time span. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is the main bureaucratic organization responsible for the human resources aspect of many federal agencies and their employees. The PAEA created the Postal Service Retiree Health Benefit Fund (PSRHB) after Congress removed
5605-496: The United States Postal Service appointed Louis DeJoy , the first postmaster general in the last two decades who did not emerge from the postal bureaucracy. Instead he had three decades of experience in the private delivery sector where he created a new national corporation with 80,000 employees. DeJoy—until 2014 CEO of New Breed Logistics (a controversial Postal Service contractor), and until 2018
5700-494: The amount of $ 5.6 billion, of which $ 5.8 billion was the accrual of unpaid mandatory retiree health payments. First-class mail volume peaked in 2001 to 103.65 billion declining to 52.62 billion by 2020 due to the increasing use of email and the World Wide Web for correspondence and business transactions. Private courier services, such as FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS), directly compete with USPS for
5795-470: The artistic work of Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan, and others the use of a form of dancing which strives to portray in movements what the music master expresses in his compositions—interpretative dancing." In Europe, Mary Wigman in Germany, Francois Delsarte , Émile Jaques-Dalcroze ( Eurhythmics ), and Rudolf Laban developed theories of human movement and expression, and methods of instruction that led to
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#17327796652175890-479: The audience. Many modern dancers choose a subject near and dear to their hearts, such as a lost love or a personal failure. The dancer will choose music that relates to the story they wish to tell, or choose to use no music at all, and then choose a costume to reflect their chosen emotions." This list illustrates some important teacher-student relationships in modern dance. United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service ( USPS ), also known as
5985-711: The beginning of their solvency." African American dance blended modern dance with African and Caribbean movement (flexible torso and spine, articulated pelvis, isolation of the limbs, and polyrhythmic movement). Katherine Dunham trained in ballet, founded Ballet Negre in 1936 and then the Katherine Dunham Dance Company based in Chicago . In 1945, she opened a school in New York, teaching Katherine Dunham Technique , African and Caribbean movement integrated with ballet and modern dance. Taking inspiration from African-based dance where one part of
6080-435: The body plays against one another, she focused on articulating the torso in her choreography. Pearl Primus drew on African and Caribbean dances to create strong dramatic works characterized by large leaps. She often based her dances on the work of black writers and on racial issues, such as Langston Hughes 's 1944 The Negro Speaks of Rivers , and Lewis Allan's 1945 Strange Fruit (1945). Her dance company developed into
6175-583: The company of five women and five men toured as the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The dancers included Loretta Abbot, Takako Asakawa, Hope Clarke , Joan Peters, and Lucinda Ransom, Alvin Ailey , Bill Luther, Hector Mercado, James Truitte , and Dudley Williams, performed in Paris and London. In 1965, Judith Jamison joined the company and would later serve as the company's first artistic director after Alvin Ailey 's death in 1989. In 1969,
6270-490: The company's first performance, Ailey's Ariette Oubliee , Blues Suite , and Cinco Latinos were featured. In 1960, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, later to be renamed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), presented the premiere of Revelations at Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York. Rehearsals for Revelations were held in the basement of Clark Center for the Performing Arts , which would later serve as
6365-485: The cost of postage increased to 73 cents for first class mail. Comprehensive reform packages considered in the 113th Congress include S.1486 and H.R.2748. These include the efficiency measure, supported by Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe of ending door-to-door delivery of mail for some or most of the 35 million addresses that currently receive it, replacing that with either curbside boxes or nearby "cluster boxes". This would save $ 4.5 billion per year out of
6460-522: The dean and director of the dance division at Juilliard , will take over as AAADT artistic director on July 1, 2025. The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation is the largest modern and contemporary dance organization in the United States and consists of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, The Ailey School, Ailey Camp, Ailey Extension, and Ailey Arts In Education and Community Programs. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,
6555-461: The delivery of packages. Lower volume means lower revenues to support the fixed commitment to deliver to every address once a day, six days a week. According to an official report on November 15, 2012, the U.S. Postal Service lost $ 15.9 billion its 2012 fiscal year. In response, the USPS has increased productivity each year from 2000 to 2007, through increased automation, route re-optimization, and facility consolidation. Despite these efforts,
6650-716: The development of European modern and Expressionist dance . Other pioneers included Kurt Jooss ( Ausdruckstanz ) and Harald Kreutzberg . Disturbed by the Great Depression and the rising threat of fascism in Europe, the radical dancers tried to raise consciousness by dramatizing the economic , social , ethnic and political crises of their time. In 1915, Ruth St. Denis founded the Denishawn school and dance company with her husband Ted Shawn . Martha Graham , Doris Humphrey , and Charles Weidman were pupils at
6745-410: The easiest access to roadside mailboxes. Some rural letter carriers use personal vehicles. All contractors use personal vehicles. Standard postal-owned vehicles do not have license plates . These vehicles are identified by a seven-digit number displayed on the front and rear. Starting in 2026, all delivery truck purchases are scheduled to be electric vehicles , partly in response to criticism from
6840-557: The effort. In 2017, AAADT unveiled The Elaine Wynn and Family Education Wing, a 10,000-square-foot expansion to the Weill Center. Elaine Wynn is a major donor to AAADT. The Wynn Wing adds three floors to Weill Center and features four additional dance studios, two new flexible classrooms, and administrative offices. The following is a partial list of trustees who have played a major role in AAADT's history. A partial list of former Alvin Ailey dancers. Modern dance Modern dance
6935-412: The first time on a $ 5.5 billion retirement benefits payment due August 1, 2012, and a $ 5.6 billion payment due September 30, 2012. On September 30, 2014, the USPS failed to make a $ 5.7 billion payment on this debt, the fourth such default. In 2017, the USPS defaulted on some of the last lump-sum payments required by the 2006 law, though other payments were also still required. Proposals to cancel
7030-401: The four weeks preceding Christmas since 2013, packages from all mail classes and senders were delivered on Sunday in some areas. Parcels are also delivered on holidays, with the exception of Thanksgiving and Christmas. The USPS started delivering Priority Mail Express packages on Christmas Day in select locations for an additional fee. The holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas
7125-595: The funding obligation and debt from the defaults. Legislation was introduced in Congress in 2016 as well as in 2019, aiming to remove the benefits funding obligations, however no new legislation was passed until the 2022 Postal Service Reform Act (PSRA). The PSRA was signed into law in April 2022. It forgave $ 57 billion in Postal Service debt and released it from the obligation to set aside funds for future retirees' healthcare, as well as adding requirements for delivery timing and reporting on performance metrics, and allowing
7220-418: The funding obligation and plan a new schedule for the debt were introduced in Congress as early as 2016. A 2019 bill entitled the "USPS Fairness Act", which would have eliminated the pension funding obligation, passed the House but did not proceed further. As of March 8, 2022, the Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 , which includes a section entitled "USPS Fairness Act" cancelling the obligation, has passed both
7315-441: The initial 50,000 vehicles will be electric, as will all vehicles purchased after 2026. The number of gallons of fuel used in 2009 was 444 million, at a cost of US$ 1.1 billion . For every penny increase in the national average price of gasoline, the USPS spends an extra US$ 8 million per year to fuel its fleet. The fleet is notable in that many of its vehicles are right-hand drive , an arrangement intended to give drivers
7410-445: The late 19th century, modern dance artists such as Isadora Duncan , Maud Allan , and Loie Fuller were pioneering new forms and practices in what is now called improvisational or free dance . These dancers disregarded ballet's strict movement vocabulary (the particular, limited set of movements that were considered proper to ballet) and stopped wearing corsets and pointe shoes in the search for greater freedom of movement. Throughout
7505-498: The nation. While the strike ended without any concessions from the federal government, it did ultimately allow for postal worker unions and the government to negotiate a contract which gave the unions most of what they wanted, as well as the signing of the Postal Reorganization Act by President Richard Nixon on August 12, 1970. The act replaced the cabinet-level Post Office Department with a new federal agency,
7600-607: The official residence for the company. In 1962, Ailey recast his all-black dance company into a multi-racial group, and the modernized company completed its first international tour to Australia and southeast Asia. The tour of the Lavallade-Ailey American Dance Company, named for Ailey's partnership with Carmen de Lavallade , started in Sydney, Australia, and ended in Seoul, South Korea. In 1964,
7695-410: The organization saw an $ 8.5 billion budget shortfall in 2010, and was losing money at a rate of about $ 3 billion per quarter in 2011. On December 5, 2011, the USPS announced it would close more than half of its mail processing centers, eliminate 28,000 jobs and reduce overnight delivery of First-Class Mail. This will close down 252 of its 461 processing centers. (At peak mail volume in 2006,
7790-620: The post office to facilitate the predicted flood of mail ballots, but the bill never reached the Senate floor for a vote. A March 2021 report from the Postal Service's inspector general found that the vast majority of mail-in ballots and registration materials in the 2020 election were delivered to the relevant authorities on time. The Postal Service handled approximately 135 million pieces of election-related mail between September 1 and November 3, delivering 97.9% of ballots from voters to election officials within three days, and 99.89% of ballots within seven days. Postmaster General DeJoy helped
7885-402: The recent changes. On August 16 the House of Representatives was called back from its summer recess to consider a bill rolling back all of the changes. On August 18, 2020, after days of heavy criticism and the day after lawsuits against the Postal Service and DeJoy personally were filed in federal court by several individuals, DeJoy announced that he would roll back all the changes until after
7980-428: The rise of a middle class (which had more disposable income and free time), and the decline of Victorian social strictures led to, among other changes, a new interest in health and physical fitness. "It was in this atmosphere that a 'new dance' was emerging as much from a rejection of social structures as from a dissatisfaction with ballet." During that same period, "the champions of physical education helped to prepare
8075-795: The school and members of the dance company. Seeking a wider and more accepting audience for their work, Duncan, Fuller, and Ruth St. Denis toured Europe . Martha Graham is often regarded as the founding mother of modern 20th-century concert dance . Graham viewed ballet as too one-sided: European , imperialistic , and un-American. She became a student at the Denishawn school in 1916 and then moved to New York City in 1923, where she performed in musical comedies , music halls , and worked on her own choreography . Graham developed her own dance technique , Graham technique , that hinged on concepts of contraction and release. In Graham's teachings, she wanted her students to "Feel". To "Feel", means having
8170-430: The services that the Postal Service could offer to only those it already provided and also established a requirement for the USPS to save money for the medical benefits of future retirees. The Act set a goal to save $ 5 billion per year for the first 10 years of a 50-year schedule, however within 6 years the Postal Service began to default on its payments. The Postal Service experienced lower revenues as mail use declined in
8265-592: The viewpoint of a movement specialist rather than as a reviewer of music or drama. Educators accepted modern dance into college and university curricula, first as a part of physical education, then as performing art. Many college teachers were trained at the Bennington Summer School of the Dance, established at Bennington College in 1934. Of the Bennington program, Agnes de Mille wrote, "...there
8360-423: The way for modern dance, and gymnastic exercises served as technical starting points for young women who longed to dance." Women's colleges began offering "aesthetic dance" courses by the end of the 1880s. Emil Rath , who wrote at length about this emerging art form at the time stated, "Music and rhythmic bodily movement are twin sisters of art, as they have come into existence simultaneously...today we see in
8455-684: Was a community preference for a different option. In a survey of rural customers, 54% preferred the new plan of retaining rural post offices with reduced hours, 20% preferred the "Village Post Office" replacement (where a nearby private retail store would provide basic mail services with expanded hours), 15% preferred merger with another Post Office, and 11% preferred expanded rural delivery services. In 2012, USPS reported that approximately 40% of postal revenue comes from online purchases or private retail partners including Walmart , Staples , Office Depot , Walgreens , Sam's Club , Costco , and grocery stores. The National Labor Relations Board agreed to hear
8550-443: Was a fine commingling of all kinds of artists, musicians, and designers, and secondly, because all those responsible for booking the college concert series across the continent were assembled there. ... free from the limiting strictures of the three big monopolistic managements, who pressed for preference of their European clients. As a consequence, for the first time American dancers were hired to tour America nationwide, and this marked
8645-605: Was a major venue for delivering patronage jobs to the party that controlled the White House. Newspaper editors often were named. It was elevated to a cabinet-level department in 1872, and was transformed by the Postal Reorganization Act of 1970 into the U.S. Postal Service as an independent agency. Since the early 1980s, many direct tax subsidies to the USPS (with the exception of subsidies for costs associated with disabled and overseas voters) have been reduced or eliminated. The United States Information Agency (USIA) helped
8740-570: Was later adopted into the repertory of the Royal Danish Ballet . Cry is a three-part, 17-minute solo created for Judith Jamison . It was meant to pay homage to "all Black women everywhere, especially our mothers" and can be seen as a journey from degradation to pride, defiance, and survival. In 1974, Ailey created the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble (later renamed Ailey II). In 1980, the second company and
8835-455: Was marked by social and cultural experimentation in the arts. Choreographers no longer created specific 'schools' or 'styles'. The influences from different periods of dance became more vague and fragmented. Contemporary dance emerged in the 1950s as the dance form that is combining the modern dance elements and the classical ballet elements. It can use elements from non-Western dance cultures, such as African dancing with bent knees as
8930-436: Was originally designed as a 77,000 square-foot building. The Weill Center features state-of-the-art dance studios, a performance space with a seating capacity of 275 people, classrooms, a costume shop, physical therapy facilities, faculty and student lounges, and administrative offices. In the late 1990s, following their Russia , France and Cuba tours and South Africa residency, AAADT's leadership determined that it needed
9025-595: Was reduced. In 2000, AAADT launched the silent phase of a five year, sixty-six million dollar capital campaign for a new building that would double its size and an endowment for financial stability. In 2002, AAADT broke ground on its new building site on West 55th Street. In 2004, the United States Postal Service issued a first class postage stamp honoring Alvin Ailey as part of the American Choreographers stamp series, and
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