Alvin Ailey was an American choreographer with a seismic impact on modern dance in this century. He revolutionized the way African-American rituals, experiences, music and literature were presented through dance and carved a niche for the voice of that community that continues through his company 10 years after his death.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is currently touring Japan in celebration of its 40th anniversary. Under artistic director Judith Jamison and associate Masazumi Chaya, the group faithfully follows the choreographic heritage laid by Ailey in more than 50 works and complements this core repertoire with newer pieces commissioned from the modern choreographic family of Ulysses Dove, Bill T. Jones, Donald Byrd, Garth Fagan and the like. Just as Ailey drew on the great musical heritage of jazz, the blues, gospel as well as classical works by Bartok, Ravel, Satie, Britten and Stravinsky, so Jamison's challenge is now to steer this company into the next century while keeping intact Ailey's powerful mandate to draw inspiration from the African-American experience.

As that experience broadens to include the stories of peoples from other cultural backgrounds, so the ethnic makeup of the company has broadened to include dancers of different ethnic backgrounds and a body of choreography that speaks to a more diverse audience. Like the new faces in the ranks of this poetic, athletic and overwhelmingly musical company, the productions in the three programs presented in Japan look to the possibilities of the future as much as the lessons learned and celebrated in the past.

The company excels in theatrical movement, as in "The Prodigal Prince" by Geoffrey Holder, as well as the rich emotions of Jamison pieces such as "Echo: Far From Home," both on Program A. For dance lovers seeking the "real" Ailey in a historical context, Program B offers excerpts from "For 'Bird' -- With Love," "Hidden Rites," the stunning "Cry," "Memoria" and more. But the program which hints most convincingly at the future of the company is Program C, comprising "Streams" and the mighty "Revelations" by Ailey, the powerfully poetic "Bad Blood" by Ulysses Dove and the new "Ascension" by company member Troy O'Neil Powell.

For all the surfeit of high kicks, interminable spins and held extensions on Sept. 22 at Tokyo International Forum Hall C, the Dove and O'Neil Powell works showed the company in a fine state of athletic abandon and sheer musicality. Dwana Adiaha Smallwood shaped "Ascension" to her pleasing, against a trio of male dancers in slightly sensational mode. The delight of the entire program, however, was the Dove piece, performed by seven dancers in varied groupings powered by Linda-Denis Evans and illuminated by the soft phrasing of Dove, whose work we do not see often enough in this country.

The only sense of grievance with the repertoire on offer is that, as the box office so often dictates, excerpts of longer works and short fillers are becoming normal for company tours. It's wonderful to see dancers dancing as if they love to move, making sense out of movement and sharing that connection with the audience. It would be tremendous to see this company in a longer, even evening-length, piece to get the full measure of their artistry.

A choreographer of the caliber of Ulysses Dove allows the individual to develop that artistry on a deeper level, to shine through the technique, the discipline and the choreography itself.

Jamison also seeks to free the individual voice amid the dazzlingly rich heritage that has influenced this company's repertoire. And she has her finger on a pulse that rarely informs such a diverse repertoire, an ethical commitment to presenting as truthfully as possible the stories, observations and imaginings that turn a piece of dance into a fable for her people and her times.

With this company, as it charts a course away from Ailey's profound documenting and investigation, there's as much gritty honesty in the commissioning of works as there is uncompromising honesty in the portrayal of those works on stage. Where others plumb a cultural heritage for its authenticity and render it specifically for its own audience, Jamison democratizes this heritage, and makes it applicable to us all. This political and personal vision may find the next 40 years not long enough at all.