During the course of its nearly six decades as a cultural phenomenon, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has created a unique and enduring bond with its audiences. And when the company arrives for its annual Chicago engagement something else pops into place: The Auditorium Theatre instantly becomes the most racially mixed hub in a city that can still be divided.
Robert Battle, artistic director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, explains why it was important for him to come back home to Liberty City to teach a master class to aspiring dancers of Miami's Northwestern High School.
Can you remember an inspirational experience that changed your life? Robert Battle certainly can.
With an adrenaline-fueled rush, Robert Battle's "Awakening" ushers in a new era for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. But while it feels like a departure for both Battle as choreographer and for the company, in truth "Awakening" in many ways continues Alvin Ailey's vision.
"I will never again say I can't do anything!" declares 14-year-old Kyle Grant from Mitchells Plain, a crime-riddled township of Cape Town. This young dance student has just witnessed the exhilarating Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's (AAADT) mini-performance for school children at the city's largest theater.
The First Lady welcomed young girls to the White House for a workshop with dancing icons from Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Judith Jamison, Debbie Allen, Dance Theater of Harlem, and Fatima Robinson.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is premiering "Untitled America: First Movement," a performance that explores the impact that prison has on people. Choreographer Kyle Abraham observed the body language of former prisoners, and translated those movements into dance.
A crowd filled the little steps of City Hall Wednesday morning for the historic marker dedication for legendary hometown dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey. Rogers Mayor Tammy Cockrum, who emceed the event, said she was not only impressed by the town's response with more than 50 residents and almost 150 students in attendance, but also from people who traveled to Rogers from across Central Texas and even as far as Houston.
Robert Battle grew up in one of Miami's poorest neighborhoods wearing metal braces on his legs but dreaming of dance. Thirty years later, he runs the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater - the very company that inspired him as a child.