The Alvin Ailey company member talks to Shondaland about how she choreographed herself a new destiny during the most difficult time in her life. In the ongoing Shondaland series Head Turners, we meet interesting women from every facet of life who are crushing it in their careers. From artists and tech mavens to titans of the boardroom, these women are breaking barriers, and they’ll share how you can too.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company dancer continues the legacy of uplifting Black women in the arts. Sports Illustrated and Empower Onyx are putting the spotlight on the diverse journeys of Black women across sports—from the veteran athletes, to up-and-coming stars, coaches, executives and more—in the series, Elle-evate: 100 Influential Black Women in Sports.
Robert Battle was around 13 years old when he first saw dancers perform a work by the pioneering Black choreographer Alvin Ailey. “It was a revelation,” he recalls. As a bullied child with artistic ambitions, he found it dazzling to see people who looked like him earn applause for telling the story of the African-American experience through movement.
NEW YORK -- The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Lincoln Center on Wednesday for six performances. A diverse program has been put together to cap a decade of leadership under artistic director Robert Battle. He talked to CBS2's Dave Carlin on Wednesday about his 10 years with Ailey, and what he sees for its future.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is returning to Lincoln Center. The six-performance engagement will cap a decade under the leadership of artistic director Robert Battle. He joined Sandra Bookman to discuss the season opener and his 10th year anniversary program, which features his choreography set to the music of some of the greats, like Ella Fitzgerald, Stevie Wonder and others.
A career in dance is so demanding—physically and otherwise—that it can be tempting for dancers to dance, dance and only dance. It’s not uncommon to avoid other physical pursuits, whether out of fear of injury, lack of time or the now-debunked idea that certain activities build the wrong kinds of muscles. And yet, many dancers who’ve found other outlets for movement—even beyond the traditionally “dancer-approved” ones like yoga and Pilates—have found them to have a symbiotic relationship with their dance practice, each informing and growing the other. Dance Magazine spoke to four artists - including Ailey's Constance Stamatiou - with unique physical practices about what they’ve learned from them, and how they balance them with dance.
In 2018, Alicia Graf Mack joined the Juilliard School as director of the conservatory’s dance department, the first woman of color to lead the division. During her tenure, the school has done away with gendered ballet classes and expanded the canon of music taught in its history and theory courses to include more works by composers of color.
For Christopher Taylor, dancing in the street led to dancing on the stage. Taylor had a blast dancing in Military Park, he says, while growing up in Newark. Now, he makes his debut Wednesday as a member of Ailey II, where he takes the stage at Manhattan’s The Ailey Citigroup Theater, playing until April 3.
Alvin Ailey’s “Revelations” is back in the flesh — and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is dancing it as rousingly as ever. If you’ve never seen “Revelations,” or haven’t gotten a dose in a few years, make haste to the Ailey company’s current run at UC Berkeley’s Cal Performances, where this eternal and indestructible 1960 classic is slated to cap every program (there are five of them) on offer through Sunday, April 3. And brace yourself; as one longtime fan was heard telling a newcomer on opening night Thursday, March 29, “You’re about to go to church.”
First-year Ailey II member Hannah Alissa Richardson will join, the celebrated second company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as they return to their home, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, for a highly anticipated two-week season featuring 10 performances from March 23 to April 3. In the first New York Season led by Artistic Director Francesca Harper, the gifted 12-member ensemble will showcase their artistry in three programs featuring premieres and returning favorites: Dichotomous, New Lens and Pulse, as well as the special celebrating Robert Battle's 10th anniversary program paying homage to his visionary leadership and Ailey journey, which began in 1999 choreographing Mood Indigo for the second company. Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Hannah Alissa Richardson about her career and the upcoming performances by Ailey II.