Alvin Ailey dancers head to Canadian stages
CBC News
Posted: Feb 3, 2012 5:44 PM ET
Last Updated: Feb 3, 2012 5:46 PM ET
Robert Battle took up the mantle of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in July 2011, to become only the third artistic director at the famed New York contemporary dance troupe.
A choreographer and artist-in-residence at Ailey since 1999, he is deeply aware of the troupe’s global prominence, he said in an interview with CBC News.
In an ambitious North American tour this year that includes three Canadian dates, Battle sets out to display the fresh material and new dance talent he is bringing to the company.
Among the dancers is Winnipeg-born Rachael McLaren, who trained at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet school before going on to Ailey II, the junior company for the New York troupe. She still had to audition five times to join the main company.
She shares her love of street dance and talks about how it influences some of the new choreography that Alvin Ailey is bringing to the stage.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre performs in Toronto Feb. 2-4, in Ottawa April 17 and in Montreal April 19-21.
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