MR. KOJO NNAMDIFifty-four years ago, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater went on its first American tour. And while the company no longer sets out from New York in a station wagon, it does still aim to honor the vision of its founder to use dance as a way to honor the past, celebrate the present and reach into the future, a future that has recently been entrusted to a new artistic director for the first time in over two decades.

MR. KOJO NNAMDILast summer, Robert Battle took over as the third leader of the iconic dance company. And while he never worked with Ailey, he's eager to interpret his vision for those familiar and new to the Alvin Ailey experience alike. Robert Battle joins us in studio. As I mentioned, he is the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Robert Battle, welcome. Thank you for joining us.

MR. ROBERT BATTLEThank you for having me.

NNAMDIIf you have questions or comments for Robert Battle, anything about the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, call us at 800-433-8850. Send email to kojo@wamu.org. Many, maybe most dancers, start taking lessons at the bar soon after they learn to walk. But your dance career apparently began a little bit later. When and how did you come to dance?

BATTLEYes, well, you know, first of all it took me a while to learn to walk 'cause I was born bow legged. So many people know what that is.

NNAMDIOh, yeah.

BATTLEI was probably more suited for riding horses.

NNAMDIThe leg braces and the...

BATTLEYeah.

NNAMDIYes, I had (unintelligible) , yes.

BATTLEYeah, and so I figure I've been doing a little dance all my life leading to this place. But, yeah, I had family that was into the arts. A mother who was actually my cousin who helped raise me who played piano for the church, taught English in high school. She had a group called the Afro-Americans, which did poetry and song celebrating the black tradition. So the point is I was surrounded by the arts and by the arts as education, not just entertainment.

BATTLESo I was singing soprano in the choir. I know it's hard to believe, but I was. And as my voice started to change and deepen, my desire to sing started to change and the desire for people to hear it changed, too. So...

NNAMDISame here, same here. I couldn't carry a tune after my voice started to change.

BATTLEOh yeah, I said, forget this. And this is in the '80s when everybody was imitating Michael Jackson. And that was me, too. And so I decided that I would audition for dance. And that's what happened and it took a hold of me and I it and here I am.

NNAMDIWhen you were named as the new Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater some called you an outsider, but you don't see it that way. How closely had you worked with the company before taking over the helm?

BATTLEWell, the company -- because Mr. Ailey in 1958 when he started the company made it a repertoire company, meaning that it would be not just his voice but many voices adding to that tapestry. And so Judith Jamison chose me to choreograph the company many times. So did Sylvia Waters, who's the head of our junior company, Ailey II. And so I became family then. So the idea of extended family is something that Ailey is familiar with. So I didn't feel so much of an outsider. I always felt family.

BATTLEAnd, you know, my upbringing -- I have to go back to that...

NNAMDII got to tell you, because the New York Times in reporting about your family circumstances said you had a somewhat amorphous idea of family.

BATTLEYes, yes.

NNAMDITell us. And you mentioned earlier that you were raised by a cousin that you called your mother.

BATTLEYeah, well, initially raised by my great aunt and uncle because my birth mother had situations that were beyond her. And so my great aunt and uncle took me in at three weeks old, bowlegged, you know, and got braces for my legs. And then we moved to Miami from Fernandina Beach, Fla. We moved to Miami with their daughter, which is my cousin, Dessie (sp?) Williams, who then became mother because my great aunt passed away in 1979.

BATTLESo the idea of being outside or inside was always different for me. A family was where people loved you and took you in and took care of you and got you on your way. And I think our culture as African American, we have a history of that.

NNAMDIYeah, you knew extended family before you even knew what extended family meant.

BATTLEExactly.

NNAMDIWe're talking with Robert Battle. He is the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and taking your calls at 800-433-8850. You can also go to our website kojoshow.org and join the conversation there and send email to us at kojo@wamu.org. Are you planning to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company while they're in town? If you go to see the group every year we'd love to know what keeps you going back, 800-433-8850.

NNAMDIYou never met or worked with Alvin Ailey but Judith Jamison from whom you were taking the reins knew him well and has said that you remind her of him, especially when it comes to your belief that the company's mission is both artistic and political. How do you yourself define or interpret that mission? And how do you plan to move it forward?

BATTLEWell, I think, you know, the one piece of advice Ms. Jamison gave to me that is the most important is the simplest, which is be yourself. You're the only you. And so I'm just following my convictions. As I said, I think that similarity perhaps is the generosity of spirit knowing that it's not about one but about many. I think that what we do is inherently political. From the beginnings of the company starting around the time of the civil rights movement that the company in itself is a movement and it continues to be, not just to entertain but to educate.

BATTLEAnd past, present and future is important because there's so much talk about the future. But if we don't know where we come from, I don't think getting somewhere is going to happen.

NNAMDIIt's going to be a little difficult.

BATTLEExactly. So constantly looking at those seminal works by Mr. Ailey and by other choreographers, but looking at the present voices and what they have to say in the future and even the first work I commissioned choreographed by Rene Harris is called "Home."

NNAMDIWe'll talk about that in a second.

BATTLEYeah.

NNAMDIHold that thought for a second because that is a dance that a lot of people might not be expecting...

BATTLEYes.

NNAMDI...to get from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. But on the other hand, people who understand context will probably expect it. But before we get there, we see the traveling company that comes to Washington D.C. every year, and we think well, that's the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, but there's a lot more to the organization than that. Could you tell us a little bit more?

BATTLEAbsolutely. I mean, first of all, I have to mention, Mr. Ailey believed in arts in education before it was somewhat of a buzz word to raise funds. I mean, he always believed in the quote that we use from him often is dance comes from the people, it should always be delivered back to the people, but really, about young people, about our future. So the Ailey School is extremely important and it's an extensive school. We also partner with Fordham University where you can receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts. That's very innovative for a school like ours.

BATTLEWe have Ailey camps that help underserved or youth that may not be exposed to dance or to the arts, have that exposure of many cities in our country. There's a lot that we do in terms of reaching out to the people, but also, I have to mention some of the unsung is our administration. Sharon Gersten Luckman who is our executive director really runs a tight ship, and we have very passionate people who make sure we stay on our toes.

NNAMDIYou say that the dances that you perform are expressing that we are complex people, and there are those of us who know that the Alvin Ailey Theater has always had a universal outlook, not restricted to any one ethnic group, even though it is based in the African-American tradition and the African-American community, which brings us to your first commission that you were just mentioning for the company. It's called "Home." It's a good example of where the artistic meets the political. How does a study by a global pharmaceutical company end up inspiring a hip-hop performance?

BATTLEWell, you know, it's -- I think the part where I spoke about not just to entertain but to educate is very important, and this was something that I took on because our founder lost his battle to AIDS in 1989 -- in December of 1989, and we have to remember the shame around that, and especially because disproportionately African-Americans are affected by this epidemic, and very important to that end that we're premiering -- not premiering it, but premiering it here tonight...

NNAMDIAt the Kennedy Center.

BATTLE...at the Kennedy Center, because this is National Black HIV AIDS Awareness Day, very important. And really what I was touched by that we would be using the stories of people who are living with HIV. So over 1300 stories were submitted to Fight HIV Your Way Contest. Ten stories were chosen by a panel to become the catalyst for this work, and I chose Rennie Harris because he deals in hip hop. I chose hip hop because it speaks to the young people but also the old people. We remember old school hip hop and all of that, and I thought this would be a way to get their attention, because that's very important.

BATTLEAnd what he did was read the stories, and he was very much inspired by the tenacity. So it really is a dance that speaks to survival, and hip hop I think is a reflection of that.

NNAMDIWe're talking with Robert Battle. He is the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater that is performing tonight at the Kennedy Center. We're taking your calls at 800-433-8850. If you have questions about what will change and what will stay the same under Robert Battles direction, give us a call. 800-433-8850. Send us a tweet @kojoshow, email to kojo@wamu.org, or simply go to our website, kojoshow.org, and join the conversation there.

BATTLENew works are exciting, but with a company like Alvin Ailey that lots of people come out to see every years, there's got to be some pressure to got to give the people -- got to give the people what they want. What familiar works are in your rotation this time?

BATTLEWell, of course, I have to mention right off the bat, 1960 masterpiece "Revelations." It is just a timeless work. I often say that when I'm asked, and I am often asked, will you ever be sort of taking that -- retiring it for a while, and I think, well, we don't take down the "Mona Lisa" and retire her, why should we retire this great work of art? I saw "Revelations" when I was around 12 years old in Miami, Florida, coming from Liberty City, and I saw it and it had a great impact on my life. It inspired me. It's the reason why I'm here today. So if I can maintain that for some other young person to be inspired to do something great, then that's what we will do.

NNAMDIAnd of course a lot of Washingtonians will go to see Alvin Ailey because they want to see "Revelations" because they want to see Renee Robinson..

BATTLEYes. Yes.

NNAMDI...who grew up here in Washington specifically in Anacostia. She was hired by Alvin Ailey in 1981, and she remains, it is my understanding, the only dancer hired by Ailey who remains with the company; is that correct?

BATTLEThat is correct.

NNAMDIYes. She is the woman with the umbrella...

BATTLEYes.

NNAMDI... in "Revelations." On to the telephone. Please put on your headphones, Robert. We will talk with Cindy in Falls, Falls, Va. Cindy, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

CINDYHi, Kojo. Thanks for taking my call.

NNAMDIYou're welcome.

CINDYMy daughter is a dancer. She's a junior in high school. We love Alvin Ailey. We always try to see them wherever they are close by in the country. We're going to be going to some (unintelligible) and I'm wondering if the guest could describe some of his favorite pieces. I understand there are a couple of different programs they're gonna do, do different programs each night. What would be some of his favorite pieces?

BATTLEWell, that's -- hi.

NNAMDIThe answer would be all, but go ahead.

BATTLEThat would be all. All of them are favorites for many different reasons. Certainly "Revelations" is what I spoke about, but I'm excited for you to see the things that I've brought into the repertory now like Paul Taylor, a master choreographer, "Arden Court." That was created in 1981. It's a beautiful work. Also...

NNAMDI"Inside."

BATTLE"Inside," are we...

NNAMDIThat's one of the works you choreographed. Are you doing that?

BATTLEYes. Yes. We're not doing that one, but we are doing...

NNAMDIYou're not doing "Inside"?

BATTLE...but we are doing "Takademe," which is work I choreographed in a living room in Queens many years ago when I couldn't afford studio space. So that's important, and it doesn't travel a lot, and don't blink because it's only three minutes and 20 seconds, but you'll love it. And also a work I choreographed in 2001 called "The Hunt," six men in sort of intense outfits. It's a very intense dance, very percussion, you can't sit still when you watch this work. But all of the works have some resonance for me that is personal, so see everything.

NNAMDIHow's that work for you, Cindy?

CINDYOkay. That's wonderful. We're looking forward to it. Thank you.

NNAMDIYou too can call us at 800-433-8850. We'd like to hear from dancers in the audience. Has Ailey's work inspired you? 800-433-8850. Here is Emerilus (sp?) in Silver Spring, Md. Emerilus, you're on the air. Go ahead, please.

EMERILUSHey, good afternoon. Hi. Hey. So I have a question. I happen to teach Russian here at Howard University, and I was looking at the Russian newspaper earlier this year, and I saw the troupe was touring there last winter.

BATTLEYes.

EMERILUSI was wondering what that experience was like, because Russians, they take their ballet so seriously.

BATTLEYes.

EMERILUSSo I was wondering what their reaction was to the style, to the (unintelligible) and of course, to the composition of your troupe, because you don't really fit the traditional Russian idea of what the ballerina should look like.

BATTLERight. Right. Well, you know, they take ballet seriously, and they take us seriously, I have to tell you. They were just thrilled, and of course we've been there before. I think, you k now, in some ways it gives them the chance to really sort of take their hair down, because during "Revelations" people were clapping along, people were enthralled by the company because we are different, and I think that that difference is important, but also I think thought it also demonstrates how universal language is.

NNAMDII was about to talk about the common language of dance.

BATTLEYeah. Yeah. I mean, we have an arabesque and it's always behind you just like the other arabesque, you know, and I think -- so seeing some of that commonality is also important from their response, but they really love us in Russia, and Russia now is very dear to me because in July that's when I took the helm of the company, so we were celebrating all over the place, but we really enjoyed the audiences there. We really felt them.

NNAMDIEmerilus, thank you very much for your call.

EMERILUSThank you, bye.

BATTLEThank you.

NNAMDIYou too can call us at 800-433-8850, or go to our website, kojoshow.org, and join the conversation there. We're talking with Robert Battle. He is the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dan Theater. Talk about the transition that you made from dancing to choreographing and what was the process involved there?

BATTLEWell, for me, I think I've always had this need to lead as we say. Or at least, I just made that up, that slogan.

NNAMDISounds good.

BATTLEYeah. It's a campaign for someone. And so even when I was a young person, whatever I did I had to teach, you know. When I studied martial arts and I would teach the other neighborhood kids, my friends, martial arts in that Florida humidity, and they would be in full gear, and their mothers would complain to me that I was, you know...

NNAMDIThat's how you end up fit as a fiddle...

BATTLEExactly.

NNAMDI...when you work out in that humidity.

BATTLEYeah. So I've always had that. So even as a dancer I was, yes, following, but I was always having my own ideas about what kind of dance I would love to see, or how I envisioned myself leading, so I think it was a natural progression to me. But teachers have meant so much to me. As I said, my mother was a teacher and it was teachers who sort of helped me along in this career of mine. So I feel I don't think of it so much as choreographing or artistic director, but as being in that role of being some sort of teacher or mentor, and that's what I'm very passionate about.

NNAMDIDoes that involved more pressure than being a dancer?

BATTLEDifferent kind of pressure, you know. I don't have to warm up as long in order to do what I do, but certainly, you know, I have 30 of the most incredible dancers on the planet, and so making sure that I have enough energy to give them, and making sure that I nurture their talents and their gifts, it keeps me up at night, but that's a good thing.

NNAMDII brought up the pressure issue because the Washington Post recent spring arts preview dubbed your Kennedy Center debut the most anticipated dance event of the season.

BATTLEWow.

NNAMDIHow much pressure do you feel as you hit the road on this first tour?

BATTLEYou know, it's excitement, because I know what we're doing is totally in line with the mission of the company. I really truly believe that, and Judith Jamison who I admire so much who chose me, and I go back to what I said in the beginning, she said that you have your own singular voice and, you know, that's what I hold onto. I'm excited that people are curious about what we're doing. When we did our -- my first New York season for the company, City Center in December, people were just elated by what they saw the dancers take on, so it's excitement for me. No pressure. No pressure.

NNAMDIWell, you're dealing with a storied company, some would say a legendary company. Do you always get the reception that you hope for when you perform? What happens when the reception is not maybe as enthusiastic as you anticipated?

BATTLEYou know...

NNAMDIHas that ever happened?

BATTLENot really. And that's depending on who you ask.

NNAMDIThe man doesn't know failure.

BATTLEWell, you know, I think as artists we're used to turning failure into fortune, you know.

NNAMDIYeah.

BATTLEAs a choreographer, you're used to sort of taking whatever means that you have, whether that's a living room in Queens or whatever, and turning that into something wonderful. So I have a habit of doing that, going beyond the idea of defeat. I love that thing that Maya Angelou says, you may suffer many defeats, but you must never be defeated. So I've never experienced that for this company. People are so excited by what we do, and we just keep on doing it and pressing on.

NNAMDINew York is your home base, but you say that you feel at home here in Washington D.C. What's familiar about the District's dance scene?

BATTLEWell, you know, of course, I'm thinking about George Mason University where some of my work has been done. A lot of the people I know there. Kennedy Center, of course, is an iconic place so -- and of course, our history with the Kennedy Center is awesome. Yeah. There's a lot of sense of this being home in some way or another, and we always look forward to coming back. I know dancers always look -- and so many of our dancers...

NNAMDII was about to say...

BATTLEYeah.

NNAMDI...at least seven or more of your dancers...

BATTLERight.

NNAMDI...are, right?

BATTLEYeah.

NNAMDIWhat do you think about the dance scene in Washington? It's where you draw quite a few of your dancers from.

BATTLEIt's wonderful. Apparently, so if you look at the roster of dancers that we have from here or neighboring towns or cities, it's alive and well.

NNAMDITalk about how you and Judith Jamison came together, how she came to select you. What's the basis of that history and that relationship?

BATTLEYes. Sylvia Waters, as I said before, who lead -- who still continues to lead Ailey, too, since 1974, since it began, and Mr. Ailey chose her to lead that, chose me in 1999 to do a work for the second company. And often that's your way in, and often for dancers, as our junior company, where they can take more risk, and she did on me. And after a while, Ms. Jamison saw the work and she really enjoyed it, so she chose me in 2003, I believe, to do a work for the main company, and she sort of got to know me and saw the way that I worked with the dancers.

BATTLEAlso, our associate artistic director, Masazumi Chaya, saw what I was doing and really felt a kindred sense of who I was, and I think that you'd have to ask her everything that she saw, but I think it developed. I have to say though, I never assumed anything, and even when there were mutterings about me perhaps being next in line, I still sort of dismissed that, and so in some ways, I'm still in awe of what has taken place, and so grateful.

NNAMDIAll we know about these things is what we see on TV and what we see on TV and in the movies tells us that all of these things are ultimately the product of dreams.

BATTLEYes.

NNAMDIWas there a point in your life when you dreamed about being the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater?

BATTLEI don't know if the dream was that specific, but I have to tell you, I was a young person who always -- my mother often will call me and say, now, do you still go sit by the water or sit in the tree and imagine things, because I always did that as a young person. Even when I was singing, I would go in my room and take the tape recorder -- yes, a tape recorder, I know, and I would...

NNAMDIWhat's that?

BATTLEI know. Many people are looking puzzled. But I would tape myself singing, and I would pretend in this room by myself that I was singing for thousands and thousands of people. I always had that sense about myself that I wanted to do something like that. So I think that visualization, I think dreams are very real in that way. I think if you can visualize it, like we do as choreographers. We sit and we imagine a world of dance, and then we make it come to life. And so somehow I always kept my eyes open to those doors that would open for me, or that I had to sort of force open, and I just continued to follow that line, and here I am. So I'm a living testimony to what dreams can do.

NNAMDIThe realization of a dream, and if you think that in his downtime he spends all of his downtime watching the most sophisticated stage and theater works possible, it's my understanding that you might find him sitting in front of the TV watching "Golden Girls." Is this true?

BATTLEOh, y'all tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth, and that is part of the truth. Yes. And "Twilight Zone" every now and then.

NNAMDIRobert Battle. He is the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performing tonight at the Kennedy Center. Thank you so much for joining us and good luck to you.

BATTLEThank you very much.

NNAMDIThank you all for listening. I'm Kojo Nnamdi.