Work presented in the Alvin Ailey company’s early years championed a few themes: “the fight of a stalwart, resilient people, fueled by hope—a near-miraculous optimism, given their circumstances—to overcome injustice, oppression, and their corroding, often lethal, results.” And, it promoted the work of black dancers and choreographers, writes Tobi Tobias. If that work, with all its ecstatic exuberance can be called “classic” Ailey, it is remarkable how much the company’s new work echoes those early themes.