Kanji Segawa in Robert Battle’s Takademe James R. Brantley, Courtesy AAADT Well, the program at City Center reminded us in a big way. Robert Battle is a choreographer of masterful restraint and sudden explosiveness. He is a choreographer who has definite musical tastes and finds a different, original movement vocabulary for each of those music […]
American Dance Theater, you might not realize there is a ferocious choreographer underneath all that charm
This week we’re sharing tributes to all of the 2021 Dance Magazine Award honorees. For tickets to our hybrid ceremony taking place December 6, visit dancemediafoundation.org. Robert Battle once told an interviewer on PBS, “Something about movement, very early on for me, signified life.” As a youngster, it wasn’t likely that he would become a […]
Judith Jamison was always going to be a tough act to follow. But in the six years since Robert Battle took the helm of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, he’s launched a new era for the iconic troupe. Take last season: Battle revived Ailey’s Masekela Langage, pushed the envelope with Kyle Abraham’s new Untitled America […]
Your first dance job can be exhilarating. And terrifying. Those initial few weeks especially can feel like an obstacle course of incredible opportunities and narrowly-avoided mistakes as you navigate the nuances of a company life. It’s a process that many recent grads are just getting to know as companies rev up for their fall seasons. A few months ago, I spoke to Alvin […]
Robert Battle rehearsing Takademe in the Ailey studios. Photo by Paul Kolnik, Courtesy AAADT. This month at City Center is the first Ailey season with Robert Battle at the helm. He wasted no time in expanding the rep, reaching into the company’s past riches as well as taking on other modern dance giants. […]
Robert Farris Thompson, who was given the Outstanding Contribution to Dance Research award by the Congress on Research in Dance in 2007, died on November 29, 2021, at 88 years of age. Thompson was the Colonel John Trumbull Professor of the History of Art and, from 1978 until 2010, Master of Timothy Dwight College at […]
Jamar Roberts stands still, all six feet and four inches of him, arms quietly at his sides. As a man’s voice is heard—the first two words of text are “Black is”—Roberts steps into a wide stance, arms held out to their fullest wingspan. He fills every inch of the stage with his presence. Then he […]
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