2. • Robert Battle was born in Florida and
showed artistic talent early. He studied
dance at a high school arts magnet
program before moving on to Miami‘s New
World School of the Arts and finally to the
dance program at The Juilliard School
3. • In 1994 Robert Battle joined Parsons
Dance Company just after graduating
from The Julliard School
• In 1998, he began choreographing for the
Parsons Dance Company 4 years after
joining.
• In 1999 he was commissioned to create
Mood Indigo for the popular young Ailey
II company.
4. • Founded his own company ‗Battleworks‘ and
choreographed ‗The Hunt‘ which 10 years later
was put into AAADT repertory just before Battle
took over as Artistic Director.
• In 2002 Battleworks Dance Company premiered in
Düsseldorf, Germany as U.S. representative to the
World Dance Alliance's Global Assembly.
• In 2003 he choreographed Juba his first
commission for AAADT and choreographed sideby-side with Judith Jamison and Rennie Harris for
Love Stories.
5. • Honored as one of the ―Masters of African
American Choreography‖ by the Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts in 2005
• Artist in residence at AAADT in 2006 &
2008
• Received the prestigious Statue Award
from the Princess Grace in between his
roles as Artist in residence at AAADT in
2007
6. • In/Side, performed during the December
2009 New York season to popular and critical
acclaim
• He is a sought-after keynote speaker and
has addressed a number of high profile
organisations including the United Nations
Leaders Programme in Turin, Italy 2010
• Whilst never being a company member he
was invited by Judith Jamison to become
Artistic Director of AAADT, making him only
the third person to hold this role
7. * high-energy
* leaps and spins
* physically demanding
* emotive
* contrasts
* driven
* hectic
* tense
* ritualistic
* rhythmic
* athletic
* contrasts between use
of humour and more
serious episodes
* moments of slow
lyrical, soft and
gentile movement
8. This company (AAADT) has always been
about outreach before it was a buzzword to
raise funds—but really about reaching
out—and that‘s something that‘s important
to me, because as a young boy from
Miami, I saw the company because we
were bused there from our school as a
form of outreach, and that did something
for me that is very tangible and very
obvious. And so I really see the importance
in continuing that.
9. * Do you ever feel the need to create work that will connect with your
audience members or do you focus on other goals when you work?
I always want to make work – and to see work – that connects with the
audience. I think one of the cornerstones of the Ailey company is that we
connect with our audience; that‘s why we have had such a vast audience for
so many years. To me, the single most important thing about being a
choreographer or dancer is communication. If the work does not
communicate, to me it is not successful. That‘s how I view it. It doesn‘t
mean that the audience has to love everything that you do, but just feel and
experience what you do in a way that is visceral.
* Where does your inspiration come from?
For me, inspiration comes from my dancers. These are some of the most
marvelous dancers in the world that I get a chance to work with, and that
inspires me to choose repertory I want to see them do. As a choreographer,
I‘m interested in what they think physically, and what their experiences are
physically – that inspires me. So the inspiration really is, once again, people.
Rather, it‘s people doing some courageous act; that human quality is always
what I connect with.
10. * What draws your attention to a dancer in an audition room?
What qualities capture your eyes first? Also, what makes you
turn your eye away from a dancer in the audition room?
I really look for a dancer that has the technical proficiency to do what
they are asked to do, of course. But I also try to look at a dancer, like
Alvin Ailey said, that can express what is strange and different and
unique, or even ugly, about the dance itself. Dancing is a vehicle to
express oneself. So if all I see is movement and not the person
moving, then that doesn‘t interest me. I‘m really interested in how
this dancer is able to communicate through the movement. This goes
back to the notion that we do all of this to speak to one another. So if
the only thing you can do is execute the steps, then it won‘t hold my
attention. Sometimes you can draw that out of a dancer, and
sometimes that‘s just not that dancer‘s particular interest. And that‘s
okay too.
11. * How important is it to keep the Ailey company's past alive as well as
combining it with a direction for the future and how do you try and
achieve this?
It‘s important to keep the past of the Ailey company alive, because the past
is the present. I don‘t see any distance between then and now. When I think
about a great work of art, it endures, and it is timeless. If it was true then,
then it is true now, and it speaks to the audience as it speaks to me. The
past is not a burden; it‘s the reason why we are here in the first place, so I
embrace this rich history of this marvelous company. How do I achieve that?
By always challenging and engaging the audience, challenging and engaging
the dancers, and finding work that falls in line with that mission. And, by
certainly remembering the oft repeated quote by Mr. Ailey himself, who said
that ―Dance comes from the people and should always be delivered back to
the people.‖ Judith Jamison carried that torch, and now I carry it. I try to do
things that come from my own instinct and heart, and that‘s how I achieve
it. But as for the future, the story hasn‘t been totally written yet – I‘m still
living it. So we‘ll see. Ask me in 20 years.
12. * What music genre is your favorite to dance and
choreograph to and why?
Generally, I like percussion because it moves me. It‘s very much
in your face – you have to deal with percussion in a way that‘s
very immediate and I love that. But I love all types of music,
from classical to experimental. For one dance I choreographed,
Takademe, the music is very different – it‘s set to Indian Kathak
rhythms. One time, an audience member said to me, ―Your music
is everything from Bach to bongos.‖ I like that! And I find that
that is true – different types of music challenge me in different
ways. I started as a musician by playing piano when I was very
little, so I had an appreciation for music at an early age. So
music is really what moves me, but all types.
13. * When choreographing a dance which
comes to you first, the music or the
movement?
Usually the music is the catalyst and the
movement sort of pours out of that. Generally,
I don‘t choreograph in silence; it‘s a response
to a piece of music. And I try not to just
imitate the music – I try to add my own voice
through the dance as if I were another
musician performing the score.
