Dance is for everybody

"I think it is important for us at this time to see beyond our circumstances, and in that way I think we can do through the arts, that we can do that through dance".

Robert Battle, the artistic director of Ailey’s namesake dance company, speaks about the historical role of the arts and finding our common humanity. Alvin Ailey was an African-American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Ailey School in New York City. He is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th-century concert dance.