Linda Celeste Sims knows a thing or two about the Alvin Ailey classic "Revelations." The Bronx native is a former Ailey American Dance Theater principal dancer and one of the longest tenured dancers to ever perform with the company.

"'Revelations' was Mr. Ailey's masterpiece that he choreographed in 1960, and also currently the first company and the second company performs it around the world, and it is about the history and where he grew up in Rogers, Texas, and going to the Baptist Church," Sims said.

What You Need To Know

  • A show dedicated to the life and work of legendary dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey is on its way to the Whitney Museum 

  • Tickets are currently available for the exhibition, which opens Sept. 25 and runs through Feb. 9

  • The exhibition will include dance performances and lessons

NY1 met up with Sims and some of her dance students at the Whitney Museum of American Art in anticipation of "Edges of Ailey." It's an exhibition that looks at the life and legacy of the groundbreaking dancer and choreographer who passed away in 1989.

"It's the Whitney Museum, plus the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The show will have live dance, an immersive video installation, artworks that are inspired by Ailey and related to his work. It's going to be incredible: new choreographic commissions every day. The museum is going to be so alive," said Scott Rothkopf, director of the Whitney, which is located in Manhattan's Meatpacking District.

The Whitney is going to be dance central for the run of this show as two iconic New York cultural institutions team up. Sims said she couldn't be happier.

"It's been a long time that we have been waiting for a moment like this. Really, truly, and I think it's really special and it really speaks a lot to what Mr. Ailey's vision was, is that dance came from the people it should always be delivered back to the people," she said. 

For tickets to the exhibition and other information, head to the Whitney Museum's website.