Over the years, the Chez Vous Roller Rink, when not fulfilling its roller skating mission, has been host to numerous big name performers in the entertainment industry.

Add the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to that list.

As part of the Celebrity Series of Boston, the troupe’s dancers traveled across the neighborhoods of Boston last weekend to give performances and clinics – fulfilling the renowned company’s mission of “bringing dance back to the people.”

One of the key stops was Dorchester’s Chez Vous roller rink on Sunday afternoon, where two retired dancers, Renee Robinson and Amos Machanic, Jr., led some 145 participants in a clinic that familiarized participants with the company’s most famous piece, ‘Revelations,’ from 1960.

“Alvin Ailey is not necessarily going downtown or to the Seaport in places that might not be accessible to everyone,” said the event’s emcee, Courtney Boston. “We’ve had these programs in our neighborhoods and our backyards so our young people can be inspired by these amazing dancers.”

After a performance from the OrigiNation Dance Team to an upbeat Caribbean hype piece, dancers in attendance – young and old – learned the choreography for three parts of ‘Revelations’ during the 90-minute teaching session.

Alvin Ailey was born in 1931 in Texas, and eventually settled with his mother in Los Angeles, where he learned about dance from Lester Horton, which led him to a career on Broadway in New York City. In 1958, he started his own dance company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
Machanic noted that Ailey described his choreography as coming from “blood memories,” which he said were embedded “so deep I couldn’t get them out of my mind.”

The company will perform in Boston at the Boch Center Wang Theatre from April 24 to April 27 as part of the Celebrity Series of Boston.

OrigiNation dancer Tiana Patterson dances to a Caribbean piece during the warm- up for the Alvin Ailey clinic at Chez Vous on Sunday.

Bea Cockrell and her granddaughter, Payton Cockrell, danced the first part of ‘Revelations,’ called ‘Take Me All the Way to the Water,’ together.

Retired Alvin Ailey dancer Amos Machanic, Jr., encourages participants to reach all the way down during the choreography for the world famous ‘Revelations,’ dance piece during a clinic at Chez Vous roller rink Sunday. Seth Daniel photo