As only the third artistic director of the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater since its founding in 1958, Robert Battle carries the weight of history on his shoulders. But Battle, a choreographer and leader of his own rising dance company when he was handpicked to lead Ailey in 2011 by his predecessor Judith Jamison, hardly considers that history a burden.
Everyone expects professional dancers to be in great shape. But a company like Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, with an annual five-week season in New York, 150 days a year on tour and over 200 performances annually, requires Herculean physical strength and extraordinary mental clarity. Each Ailey dancer develops a personalized regimen to sustain their energy and ward off injuries, all while maintaining some semblance of "normal" life.
Denmark-born Peter Brandenhoff's talents have taken him around the world, performing with the Boston Ballet, Hamburg Ballet and San Francisco Ballet. An in-demand ballet instructor, he is currently teaching at the Ailey Extension.
A bold signature hairstyle can do more than turn heads. As these four women reveal, choosing a unique cut, color or style can transform your life, too.
When awarding a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to choreographer Alvin Ailey, President Barack Obama said, "Through him, African American history was told in a way that it had never been before - with passionate, virtuoso dance performances that transfixed audiences worldwide."
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater honored Joan Weill at its opening gala.
Alicia Graf Mack became a professional ballerina at 17, had her face on the front of the Kennedy Center by 19, and thought her career was over at 21. She shares her story of bouncing back from catastrophic injury, living with arthritis as a dancer, and relentlessly following her dreams.
Danica Paulos: Of the many terrific dancers in Ailey II, only a small fraction graduate to the senior ranks of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. It was no surprise when Danica Paulos was among the chosen few last spring.
Alvin Ailey's Artistic Director Robert Battle talks about staging the dance company’s new season, 25 years after its founder’s passing. He is only the third person to head the Company since it was founded in 1958.
The male dancers at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater are hardly asthmatic or middle-aged, but this past week, in a New York crowded with street protests, they only had to be tall and black to make audiences think of Eric Garner.