DANCE PREVIEW
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Feb. 10-14 (programs vary by show). 8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday. $21.50-$55.50. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. N.E., Atlanta. foxtheatre.org.
Robert Battle loves Atlanta audiences.
The artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said there's no mistaking when the crowd loves a performance.
“Atlanta is wonderful for us,” Battle, the company’s artistic director, said in a telephone interview. “The relationship between the company and the audience in Atlanta is very strong. We always feel that it’s a bit like going home. People really come out to support us, and when they like a performance, they make it known — they’re good and loud.”
The highly acclaimed dance company brings its show back to the Fox Theatre for six performances Wednesday through Sunday. Atlanta is the tour's second stop on the 20-city tour.
This year, audiences can expect to see some new numbers mixed in with such beloved classics as “Cry” and “Revelations,” the crowd-pleaser that will be the finale of all performances.
One work that Battle is really excited about is “Exodus,” which is choreographed by Rennie Harris, whom he calls “brilliant.” Harris uses hip-hop to express the way he sees the world, Battle said. “It looks like some of the issues like police shootings and killings that have been in the news from Trayvon Martin to Eric Garner,” he said.
Throughout the dance, there is a spiritual walker — a guide — to help people transition.
“It has to do with infinity, but it also takes a harsh look at some of the issues of the day, that have been going on much longer than the press has been paying attention,” he said.
The audience then goes a world away for the premiere of the Cuban-inspired “Open Door,” which uses vibrant music from Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, which Battle promises will bring audiences to their feet.
Another number, “No Longer Silent,” has an 18-dancer ensemble dedicated to Erwin Schulhoff’s composition “Ogelala.”
It was created in 2007 as part of a concert of choreography that brought to life long-forgotten scores by composers whose work and lives were destroyed by the Nazis.
“It really speaks to the premise of this company, which has a lot to do with social justice,” Battle said. The work “looks at the universal notion of bringing those stories to life so others can see it and know it, so we don’t repeat history. It’s really quite a powerful work.”
Battle was handpicked by Judith Jamison for the position of artistic director in July 2011 after many years with the company. He is the third person to head the company since its founding in 1958.
Before he was a dancer, Battle studied martial arts, which explains the power in his pieces — the exact way of striking with the arms, or stamping or falling on the floor.
“It has a combat kind of feeling about it,” he said.
His story is chronicled in a children’s book, “My Story, My Dance: Robert Battle’s Journey to Alvin Ailey” by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrator James E. Ransome. The book tells of how Battle overcame challenges to make his way to stages all over the world with one of the premier dance companies.
He was born with bowed legs and had to wear braces for a spell. He wasn’t raised by his mother but by a great-aunt and uncle, who didn’t have a lot of money.
He tells youngsters to use their imaginations.
“There was a lot of envisioning myself dancing before thousands of people,” he said. “Be resourceful. Somewhere, there’s always an open door.”
He tells his dancers the same things.
When he’s teaching a class, he tells them that before they leap into the air to have some image of what they will look like when they arrive. Without that, anything can happen. Or nothing. “I pictured myself going through those open doors.”
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