Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Come July, choreographer Robert Battle will become only the third artistic director of the 53-year-old Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He calls his new position “not a job, but a calling.”
“Ailey stands for so much in our culture and the fabric of our country,” said Battle, 38. “It’s more than just dance. It’s what’s best about America.”
Battle will be on hand when the Ailey company makes its Rhode Island premiere Tuesday at the Providence Performing Arts Center, the last stop on a national tour. He has fond memories of Rhode Island, giving classes at Brown University with Julie Strandberg, sister of his mentor at Juilliard, Carolyn Adams, and working with FusionWorks, the modern dance troupe based in Lincoln.
Battle is succeeding beloved artistic director Judith Jamison, who was handpicked by Ailey to take over his company just before his untimely death at 58 in 1989. Jamison was a lead dancer with the company for 15 years. She in turn threw her support behind Battle, who had close ties with Ailey, even though he was never a member of the company. Since 1999, he has choreographed a dozen pieces for the main company, its junior troupe, Ailey II, and the school.
Among his other creations is his 2001 “The Hunt,” which will be featured on Tuesday’s program, along with Ailey’s 50-year-old gospel masterpiece, “Revelations.”
He remembers seeing “Revelations” as a young man, and having a revelation of his own.
“That’s one reason I’m here today,” said Battle. “It stuck with me. Now it’s nice to know that someone young and hungry will see it and do something wonderful with their lives.”
Battle said “The Hunt,” which features six male dancers, was inspired by his youthful interest in karate, before he got into dance in high school.
“It exemplifies that kind of energy,” he said of the athletic piece. “It suggests an urban setting, and a visceral response to the drums. But it also has a kind of tribal feeling. It’s both contemporary and ancient.”.
After Juilliard, Battle joined Parsons Dance, performing until 2001, when he started his own company, BattleWorks. That troupe has now disbanded because of his new job with Ailey. Was it difficult to wipe out a decade-long association with his dancers?
“Yes and no,” said Battle. “Knowing that I’m now in the right place made it easier to make the tough decisions.”
He said that BattleWorks helped give him “emotional preparedness” for his new job.
“It prepared me to know that I needed to be more efficient as a leader,” said Battle from Ailey’s headquarters in midtown New York, where he has been working at Jamison’s side for the past year. “You don’t know these things until you are in the hot seat. The challenges are the same no matter how big the budget.”
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater premiered in March of 1958, when a group of young, black modern dancers took to the stage of New York’s 92nd Street Y, then headed out on what Ailey would call his “station wagon” tours. The company garnered international acclaim two years later with the classic “Revelations,” which looks at the black experience.
In 1962, the company was picked by President Kennedy for an international tour. Tours of Africa, China, and the Soviet Union would follow, making Ailey one of this country’s most prominent cultural ambassadors.
Today, Ailey is akin to the General Motors of the dance world, with two companies, a training school, an extension school and a community outreach arm, all of which recorded a surplus of $1.4 million last year.
Its school, housed in gleaming headquarters on Ninth Avenue and 55th Street, holds 300 classes a week, and its extension program serves 13,000 people a year.
Battle said one of the challenges facing him is finding a way to nurture a new generation of choreographers. “Choreographers need dancers, time and space,” said Battle, “and how are we going to foster that?”
He said he hopes to bring in new “choreographic voices” to keep the company fresh, which is “wonderful for the dancers and the audience.”
Thirty dancers are featured on this current tour. Besides “The Hunt” and “Revelations,” the program features George Faison’s “Suite Otis,” a tribute to the soul music of the late Otis Redding — an audience favorite, said Battle — and Camille A. Brown’s “The Evolution of a Secured Feminine,” a sassy solo set to the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter and Nancy Wilson.
“People are excited about Ailey,” said Battle. “Even if you’re not interested in dance, you come away with a good experience.
“A key ingredient of why we’re here and relevant is (that) we speak a universal language. People feel they take something away that’s special.”
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs Tuesday at 7:30 at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $30-$68. Call (401) 421-2787, or log on to www.ppacri.org.
“Ailey stands for so much in our culture and the fabric of our country,” said Battle, 38. “It’s more than just dance. It’s what’s best about America.”
Battle will be on hand when the Ailey company makes its Rhode Island premiere Tuesday at the Providence Performing Arts Center, the last stop on a national tour. He has fond memories of Rhode Island, giving classes at Brown University with Julie Strandberg, sister of his mentor at Juilliard, Carolyn Adams, and working with FusionWorks, the modern dance troupe based in Lincoln.
Battle is succeeding beloved artistic director Judith Jamison, who was handpicked by Ailey to take over his company just before his untimely death at 58 in 1989. Jamison was a lead dancer with the company for 15 years. She in turn threw her support behind Battle, who had close ties with Ailey, even though he was never a member of the company. Since 1999, he has choreographed a dozen pieces for the main company, its junior troupe, Ailey II, and the school.
Among his other creations is his 2001 “The Hunt,” which will be featured on Tuesday’s program, along with Ailey’s 50-year-old gospel masterpiece, “Revelations.”
He remembers seeing “Revelations” as a young man, and having a revelation of his own.
“That’s one reason I’m here today,” said Battle. “It stuck with me. Now it’s nice to know that someone young and hungry will see it and do something wonderful with their lives.”
Battle said “The Hunt,” which features six male dancers, was inspired by his youthful interest in karate, before he got into dance in high school.
“It exemplifies that kind of energy,” he said of the athletic piece. “It suggests an urban setting, and a visceral response to the drums. But it also has a kind of tribal feeling. It’s both contemporary and ancient.”.
After Juilliard, Battle joined Parsons Dance, performing until 2001, when he started his own company, BattleWorks. That troupe has now disbanded because of his new job with Ailey. Was it difficult to wipe out a decade-long association with his dancers?
“Yes and no,” said Battle. “Knowing that I’m now in the right place made it easier to make the tough decisions.”
He said that BattleWorks helped give him “emotional preparedness” for his new job.
“It prepared me to know that I needed to be more efficient as a leader,” said Battle from Ailey’s headquarters in midtown New York, where he has been working at Jamison’s side for the past year. “You don’t know these things until you are in the hot seat. The challenges are the same no matter how big the budget.”
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater premiered in March of 1958, when a group of young, black modern dancers took to the stage of New York’s 92nd Street Y, then headed out on what Ailey would call his “station wagon” tours. The company garnered international acclaim two years later with the classic “Revelations,” which looks at the black experience.
In 1962, the company was picked by President Kennedy for an international tour. Tours of Africa, China, and the Soviet Union would follow, making Ailey one of this country’s most prominent cultural ambassadors.
Today, Ailey is akin to the General Motors of the dance world, with two companies, a training school, an extension school and a community outreach arm, all of which recorded a surplus of $1.4 million last year.
Its school, housed in gleaming headquarters on Ninth Avenue and 55th Street, holds 300 classes a week, and its extension program serves 13,000 people a year.
Battle said one of the challenges facing him is finding a way to nurture a new generation of choreographers. “Choreographers need dancers, time and space,” said Battle, “and how are we going to foster that?”
He said he hopes to bring in new “choreographic voices” to keep the company fresh, which is “wonderful for the dancers and the audience.”
Thirty dancers are featured on this current tour. Besides “The Hunt” and “Revelations,” the program features George Faison’s “Suite Otis,” a tribute to the soul music of the late Otis Redding — an audience favorite, said Battle — and Camille A. Brown’s “The Evolution of a Secured Feminine,” a sassy solo set to the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Betty Carter and Nancy Wilson.
“People are excited about Ailey,” said Battle. “Even if you’re not interested in dance, you come away with a good experience.
“A key ingredient of why we’re here and relevant is (that) we speak a universal language. People feel they take something away that’s special.”
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performs Tuesday at 7:30 at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $30-$68. Call (401) 421-2787, or log on to www.ppacri.org.
