Robert Battle News

Freemove Dance presents the comeback run of a??it's timea?? a?" a piece performed last year as part of 14th Street Y's inaugural curated season.

Works & Process at the Guggenheim announces its Fall 2019 season. Since 1984 the performing arts series has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to leading creators.

Battery Dance announces the 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival with free performances from August 11-16, 2019 from 7 - 9 pm, against the backdrop of New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City.

The Princess Grace Foundation-USA has announced that it is establishing a new award to support emerging theater professionals in any discipline for his/her "Unique Contribution to Theater."  This award is being funded by a $1,000,000 charitable gift from the John Gore Organization with a goal of identifying and supporting extraordinary young talent in the theater field.  The award will be presented annually, beginning in 2019.

Robert Battle, Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, announced today that the Company's beloved mainstay for nearly five decades, Associate Artistic Director Masazumi Chaya, intends to retire on January 5, 2020, following the conclusion of the Company's New York City Center season. Having joined the Company in 1972 as a dancer, Mr. Chaya performed under Mr. Ailey's direction for 15 years, subsequently assumed responsibility for rehearsing the Company—a role for which Mr. Ailey had cultivated him—and for more than 28 years, as Associate Artistic Director, has maintained the repertoire, handled innumerable creative decisions, and guided generations of the Company's dancers.

Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival with free performances from August 11-16, 2019 from 7-9pm against the backdrop of New York Harbor at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City, culminating in a closing performance on August 17, 2019, from 6pm to 8pm at The Schimmel Center at Pace University.

Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2019 Lincoln Center engagement continued last night with the star-studded Ailey Spirit Gala. The centerpiece of Ailey's engagement celebrated the 50th Anniversary of The Ailey School, the official school of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and a springboard for many notable artists - including more than 70% of the Company's dancers.

The Orpheum Theatre Group is pleased to announce the hiring of a Vice President & Chief Operations Officer (COO), Dacquiri Baptiste. Dacquiri comes to the Orpheum after 19 years with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City where she most recently served as the Director of Production. She began her new role with the Orpheum Theatre Group on June 3.

Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will return to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts David H. Koch Theater for a seven-performance engagement from June 12-16. Highlights include the world premiere of Darrell Grand Moultrie's Ounce of Faith on Wednesday, June 12; The Ailey Spirit Gala benefit celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Ailey School on Thursday, June 13; performances celebrating and commemorating Pride Month; and a culminating program on Sunday, June 16 honoring dance legend Carmen de Lavallade.

New York City Center today announced programming for the 2019 - 2020 season, which will include Mack and Mabel (Feb 19-23), Kurt Weill's Love Life (March 18-22) directed by Victoria Clark, and a 'new version' of Thoroughly Modern Millie (May 6-10), featuring edits by the playwright Lauren Yee and led by 2018 Tony nominee Ashley Park.

The centerpiece of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Lincoln Center engagement is The Ailey Spirit Gala on Thursday, June 13th. The event launches the 50th Anniversary celebration of The Ailey School, which has served as a springboard for many notable artists, including more than 70% of the dancers in the Company. The evening's Honorary Chair is award-winning actress Lorraine Toussaint, who currently stars in NBC's The Village, Netflix's She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, AMC's Into the Badlands, and the recently released supernatural thriller Fast Color. She will also star in the upcoming films Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and The Glorias, where she will portray the iconic feminist and civil right activist Flo Kennedy opposite Julianne Moore. Toussaint is the parent of a student at The Ailey School.

Artistic Director Robert Battle has announced exciting highlights to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Lincoln Center season at the David H. Koch Theater June 12 – 16. In addition to a world premiere by Darrell Grand Moultrie and recent premieres by some of today's most revered choreographers across three distinct programs – Bold Visions, Trailblazers, and Timeless Ailey – the engagement includes The Ailey Spirit Gala benefit celebrating the 50th Anniversary of The Ailey School; An Evening Honoring Carmen de Lavallade; and a series of special activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. The engagement also marks the debut of five new Company dancers.

Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 38th Annual Battery Dance Festival with free performances from August 11-16, 2019 from 7-9 pm against the backdrop of New York Harbor at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City, culminating in a closing performance on August 17, 2019, from 6pm to 8pm at The Schimmel Center at Pace University. Tickets for the closing performance are $10.00; or $65 including after-reception. For more information, visit http://batterydance.org/battery-dance-festival/. Tickets for August 17 will be available beginning 7/6.

Battery Dance, in association with Battery Park City Authority, announces the 38 Annual Battery Dance Festival with free performances from August 11-16, 2019 from 7 - 9 pm against the backdrop of New York Harbor at Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park in Battery Park City, culminating in a closing performance on August 17, 2019, from 6pm to 8pm at The Schimmel Center at Pace University.

The Annenberg Center and NextMove Dance present internationally renowned Parsons Dance, May 10 (8 PM) and May 11 (2 PM and 8 PM), closing the highly successful 2018-19 dance season. Tickets are available at AnnenbergCenter.org or 215.898.3900.

There is nothing negative I could possibly say about the performance I witnessed on April 4, 2019 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.  Such artistry is almost hard to describe.  This company has an amazing history and is superb in both their interpretation and their amazing technique. Their 60-year history of excellence is a gift to our lives that must always Be. What more could you want? Extreme gratitude given to Glorya Kaufman, and Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center.  Ms. Kaufman is an Angel for the Arts in Los Angeles; especially for Dance. Supple strength that fluidly morphs until it hits a line that is as outstretched and aesthetically perfect as could be, and those are the visual pictures they create with their bodies.  It is a way of moving that combines all the elements of different opposites that we feel, react to and dream of, painting a visual picture, conveying expressive perceptions.  

Venetia Stifler, executive and artistic director of the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, on behalf of the 2019 Ruth Page Award Committee, awarded the 2019 Ruth Page Awards to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and its Artistic Director Robert Battle and Chicago Dance History Project and its Artistic and Executive Director Jenai Cutcher. The special event took place Friday, March 8 before the sold-out performance of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrating its 60th anniversary as a company and the 50th anniversary of performing at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Ida B. Wells Dr. 

Celebs attended opening night performance as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to The Music Center's Dorothy Chandler Pavilion as part of the company's 60th anniversary celebration tour from April 3 - 7, 2019.

Today, Luther Burbank Center for the Arts (LBC) announced the first 11 new shows to be added to its 2019 2020 season, continuing its tradition of showcasing a diverse lineup of chart-topping musicians, compelling dance companies, and groundbreaking storytellers. Tickets for all shows go on-sale to LBC members today, Friday, April 5 at 12 p.m., and to the general public on Friday, April 26 at 12 p.m. Tickets are available online at lutherburbankcenter.org, by calling 707-546-3600, or at the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts ticket office (50 Mark West Springs Road in Santa Rosa), open Tuesdays through Sundays from noon to 6 p.m.

Capping off a joyous 60th Anniversary celebration that reached from coast to coast, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for seven performances at the David H. Koch Theater June 12 16, 2019. Helmed by Artistic Director Robert Battle, the season features a world premiere by Darrell Grand Moultrie his debut for the Company as well as recent premieres by some of today's most revered choreographers. The engagement also includes several rarely seen works by Alvin Ailey, an Ailey Spirit Gala benefit celebrating The Ailey School's 50th Anniversary, and a special evening honoring the legendary Carmen de Lavallade. Alvin Ailey's must-see masterpiece Revelations is the uplifting finale of each performance.