Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

The Alhambra

I WILL never forget the first time I saw an Alvin Ailey show. It was at Sadlers Wells nearly a decade ago, on the opening night of a long-awaited UK tour by the New York-based company, and it felt like some kind of spiritual awakening.

Everyone should see Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Joyous, sexy, graceful, smooth, cheeky, sensual, and fuelled by a sky-high energy, these world-class dancers are good for the soul.

Fusing a range of dance techniques, including ballet, jazz and contemporary, with pop, gospel, jazz, blues and hip-hop - you'll find everyone from Stevie Wonder to Johan Sebastian Bach in an Alvin Ailey show - the company reflects and pays tribute to America's dance heritage.

These dancers don't come here very often - it's been six years since their last appearance at the Alhambra. And they're here for just two nights, so if you don't catch them tonight you've missed out.

Last night's show opened with Exodus, by acclaimed hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris. In turns rousing and sorrowful, it's a masterclass in controlled technique; the dance ensemble moves across the stage in a busy throng, led by mesmerising Jamar Roberts, then splinters off into more intimate sequences. A lament to grief, loss and the transition of a spirit to the afterlife, it's also a powerful social comment on violence and intimidation in 21st century America, and a call for action and change.

Night Creature, set to music by Duke Ellington, is like a fizzy cocktail, with the dancers strutting, leaping, prowling and flirting through three lively jazz-ballet movements. It's a sizzling slice of nightclub decadence, performed with style and wit.

After the Rain Pas de Deux, performed by Linda Celeste Sims and Glenn Allen Sims, was a sublime, dreamlike study of intimacy, at times filled with love and closeness then loss and longing.

The show ended with Revelations, Ailey's masterpiece. Using African-American spiritual song traditions, including sermons and songs sung by slaves, it's a soul-stirring tribute to the gospel and blues music that Ailey - who founded the dance company in 1958 - grew up with. Choreographed in 1960, Revelations is a breathtaking showcase of choreographic technique and energy, both physical and spiritual, exploring grief and joy.

The dancers looked fabulous, with the women in lemon dresses and pancake hats, flapping fans as if engaged in frantic gossip, and the men in smart waistcoats and shirtsleeves, the picture of strength and elegance.

From the haunting dancing choir-led I've Been 'Buked to the bewitching intimacy of Fix Me, Jesus, the soulful Wade in the Water and the thrilling Rocka My Soul in the Bosom of Abraham, this was a moving finale that had the packed audience in raptures and on its feet.

Sublime.