It’s clear in the season’s programming for Ailey’s national tour, which begins in Atlanta with a three-day run Jan. 25-27 at the Fox Theatre.

Credit: Ruven Afanador

Credit: Ruven Afanador

Among the varied programs is “Century,” a new piece by Amy Hall Garner that will likely set the tone for a vibrant future grounded in the Ailey tradition. Garner’s first piece for the main company celebrates the 100th birthday of her grandfather, Henry Spooner, highlighting his joy, resilience and love of jazz.

The idea parallels Alvin Ailey, who drew inspiration from “blood memories” from his childhood and growing up, “images and moments that he remembered from his culture,” Rushing said. “Revelations,” for example, pulled from Ailey’s early childhood memories of his Baptist church community in rural Texas.

Garner’s music choices — Ray Charles, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and others — reflect the jazz music her grandfather loves. They also align with jazz greats who collaborated with Ailey. But Garner’s style reflects her own generation. “It’s a new voice talking about her own experiences within the Black culture specifically,” said Rushing, “But also, this experience speaks universally.”

Garner, who began dancing in Huntsville, Alabama, has forged a wide-ranging path as dancer and choreographer. Her work has taken her from the Juilliard School to Broadway and from contemporary dance companies to New York City Ballet. She’s even coached Beyoncé. For all these varied pathways, Garner has kept strong ties with Ailey and was recently named an Ailey Artist in Residence.

The idea for “Century” came from pandemic days, when Garner and her family spent 18 months in Spooner’s home. Four generations lived under one roof, a circumstance that allowed for deep conversations with Spooner — on aging, on parenting, on planning and living a disciplined life, on the prospect of turning 100.

“He’s been such an inspiration to me,” Garner said of Spooner, whose milestone birthday was on Dec. 30. “He’s been such an example to me. My son is named after him. He is just that pillar in our family, in his community. He’s that rock, and he’s the last of that generation with my grandmother and all of their siblings on both sides.”

Credit: Andrew Eccles

Credit: Andrew Eccles

While creating “Century,” Garner tapped childhood memories of large family gatherings at her great-grandmother’s home in New Roads, Louisiana — a house built on cinder blocks across a gravel-paved road from the levee. There fresh country air blended with smells of gumbo, spirits and a hint of cigarette smoke, recalled Garner. Jazz, zydeco and old-school blues music played as her aunts and grandparents danced.

Garner, then 8 or 9 years old, absorbed the rhythms and groove of their dancing. “It had a down-home feel,” she said. “It was playful. It was sensual. It had a feel-good kind of spirit,” giving her a “sprinkle” of her grandparents’ lives when they were young and carefree, she said.

When he was younger, Spooner partnered his wife with “amazing rhythm,” said Garner. “He was just smooth all the time.”

Choreographing “Century,” Garner blended the rhythms and emotions she remembered from those gatherings with her own dance vocabulary that’s grounded in ballet, modern and contemporary dance.

She leaned into the grit of Rebirth Brass Band’s “Why Your Feet Hurt,” a nod to Louisiana’s second-line tradition. She slowed dancers down for Cyrus Chestnut’s rendition of “Total Praise,” which hearkens quieter moments when Garner listened to her grandfather rehearse with his church’s gospel choir.

Garner melded her style with Ailey dancers’ brilliant Horton-based technique, sometimes changing rhythms to give their dancing more punch.

Rushing noted her gift for “pulling more from the dancers, challenging them, pushing them to their limit to see what they can learn in that place.”

Christopher Wilson, a native of Augusta, dances a featured role in a number set to Ray Charles’ version of “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.” Garner has challenged Wilson to move with a fleet and explosive speed that’s expanded his skill set.

Battle’s departure also challenged Wilson. He initially felt shock and grief. But then he spent Thanksgiving at home surrounded by family. He thought about how he could transform those feelings into a performance that would project Ray Charles’ exuberant style of showmanship.

“I told myself, you have a job to do and that is to affect someone in the audience, to change a life somehow,” said Wilson. “Even if it’s one person, that’s more than enough.”

That kind of resiliency will help carry the company through its leadership change. Rushing said that whether the new artistic director comes from within the organization as Judith Jamison did, or from outside of the company as Battle did, that person must have vision. Beyond that — like Garner — they must understand Ailey.

“That means being able to embody Ailey as an artist, to articulate Ailey’s vision to the public, to teach Ailey (in) the school,” said Rushing.

Meanwhile, works like “Century” will help the company move forward, solid in Ailey’s belief that “the dance came from the people” and should be “delivered back to the people.”

It’s a mantra that Garner carries wherever she choreographs, because it supports her belief that people come to the theater to be uplifted, inspired and hopeful. “So I hope the next director really anchors their moment in that,” she said.

Programming also includes Ronald K. Brown’s “Dancing Spirit,” Elizabeth Roxas Dobris’ “Me, Myself and You,” a revival of Hans Van Manen’s “Solo,” and Kyle Abraham’s “Are You in Your Feelings?” reprised from last season. “Revelations” will close each performance.

DANCE PREVIEW

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Jan 25-27. Programs vary; “Century” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Saturday. $38-$98. Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 855-285-8499; alvinailey.org, foxtheatre.org.