Robert Battle might be best known for his role as artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 2011 to 2023, but prior to stepping into that position, he was more widely known as a choreographer. Battle started creating works for the company he was performing with, Parsons Dance, in 1998, then launched his own troupe, Battleworks Dance Company, in 2002.
Now he has more time to make dances. Fittingly, he’s created a solo for Jada Pearman for Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Lincoln Center gala this month. Taylor’s influence is woven through Battle’s early career: He describes Carolyn Adams, a longtime PTDC dancer, as “a mentor,” and David Parsons danced for Taylor prior to establishing Parsons Dance. Battle’s new solo is a tribute to Adams, whom he describes as an essential part of Taylor’s legacy: “There’s not one without the other.”
Photo by Noah Aberlin, Courtesy PTDC.
Carolyn and I go back to my time at Juilliard. I had barely gotten through my first year, going from Miami to New York, and I actually wanted to leave. Then I made it to Carolyn Adams’ class. Something about her persona, her tone, the way she spoke about the combinations connected with me. She would say things like, “Think of yourself completing the task. When you walk up to a door, part of yourself already sees yourself on the other side of it.” I love little nuggets like that: things that carry you beyond the classroom and through life. I hung on every word. Later on, when I graduated, we became closer.
I remember her saying, “A great teacher sees what is there as opposed to what isn’t there.” I love that. I always felt that she looked at me as an artist. And as a teacher, she doesn’t look at a student as something that’s broken and needs to be fixed. She says, “You’re perfect, maybe not yet realized, but perfect.”
I owe a great deal to Carolyn. When she first saw my work, she asked me, “Do you really know what you’re doing?” She did not say this in a negative way, rather she saw something deeper than what I was seeing. That caused me to investigate more and gave me courage to stick my neck out and see myself on the other side of completing the dance.
I created this solo for Jada because when I saw her dance, she reminded me of Carolyn. For the music, I settled on Bach, but then I inserted my favorite singer of all time, Sarah Vaughan. I had never wanted to choreograph to her music because I felt I couldn’t do it justice. But with this piece, I wanted to say something personal, and the song is called “Dedicated to You.” In the choreography, I reference combinations from Carolyn’s class.
Taylor has always been in my life. David Parsons’ work is very much influenced by Paul Taylor. In 1993, I was a student at Juilliard, and everybody was going to the Parsons audition. I wanted to get the experience of auditioning, and I got the job. When I started as artistic director of AAADT, the first thing I did was to bring a Taylor work into the company’s repertory.
I’ve always wanted to create a work for the Taylor company, but I didn’t have time. I’ve heard a story that when the Taylor company was becoming a repertory company, the first thing Paul asked (executive director) John Tomlinson about inviting new choreographers was “What about Robert? Can we get him?” And John said, “I think he’s busy.”
This is a full-circle moment. It’s an homage to Paul Taylor as much as it is in honor of Carolyn Adams. I see the two as interchangeable in a way, and I’m sure Paul would agree.
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