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By Susan Reiter
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Published on November 3, 2025
Robert Battle w/ Paul Taylor Dance Company; Photo: Noah Aberlin
Don't Miss Battle's "Under the Rhythm", as part of the Paul Taylor Dance Company's Season running from November 4th to November 23rd
Get tickets to the Paul Taylor Dance Company's Season at Lincoln Center, Click here for times and tickets.
When the Paul Taylor Dance Company returns to the David H. Koch Theater for its annual three-week season, there will be an additional name listed as resident choreographer -- but not an unfamiliar one. Robert Battle, who was artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 12 highly creative years, has joined Lauren Lovette in this position, and both will be offering world premieres during the season, on the November 11th gala program.
Battle has jumped into this new setting with gusto, creating Under the Rhythm, a particularly personal work for 15 dancers. His distinctive solo Takedeme is also be performed during the season, which includes a premiere by Hope Boykin and a rich array of Taylor works ranging from the 1962 Scudorama to his late masterwork Beloved Renegade, and the very welcome return of his powerful Speaking in Tongues. As it has for the past ten years, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s provides the live music for most of the repertory.
While Battle’s new role may strike some as surprising -- he’s primarily associated with Ailey, where he was selected by former leader Judith Jamison as her successor -- Battle’s links to Paul Taylor are extensive and intriguing. They began when he was a Juilliard student and first encountered Taylor’s style and choreography through former company members Carolyn Adams and Linda Kent, who were on the faculty. Adams in particular became an important mentor with whom he has retained a strong connection.
During a recent phone interview, he recalled the impact of encountering Taylor as a student: “Being introduced to Taylor’s movement in their classes, it suited my way of moving -- the use of the back, the use of weight. I really understood it in a very visceral way.”
And having the opportunity to see, and dance, Paul Taylor’s choreography, was a revelation for the young student. “There was such an emphasis on composition at Juilliard – was had Bessie Schoenberg and others as teachers. Seeing Taylor's work – dances like Company B and of course Esplanade -- was like a lesson in composition. It was my introduction to dark and light in choreography.”
Following Juilliard, Battle performed for seven years with David Parsons’ company, which had a strong Taylor lineage. He also began choreographing during that time. “Of course David was a major dancer with Paul’s company, and his work reflected that.” Battle said. “So it always felt like Taylor was not too far away from my career. And then my own choreography was influenced by David and by Paul. It was always part of my trajectory.”
When Battle was appointed to the Ailey position in 2011, one of his earliest moves was to begin adding Paul Taylor’s choreography to its repertory. He began with Arden Court, and Ailey subsequently performed Piazzolla Caldera and the rarely seen 1964 Duet. Those stagings brought him into more direct contact with the eminent choreographer.
“Bringing in Arden Court during my first season was very important, and we got to know Paul a little bit. I had a chance to spend time with him, having conversations. He was very supportive. He understood, in a way that others couldn't, what I was taking on.”
Battle recalls that another potential Taylor connection, around the time the Taylor company began adding more works by contemporary choreographers, did not work out” “When Paul first made it into a rep company, I learned from [Executive Director] John Tomlinson that he had in mind that maybe I would choreograph something. But of course I was way too busy for that in my former position.”
In fact, the extensive demands and responsibilities of his Ailey position severely limited the time he had available to create works on the Ailey dancers. “I’d gotten away from being in the studio making work – which is part of the reason I got the job in the first place,” he said.
He left Ailey in late 2023. In the company’s statement at the time, Battle said, “I know this is the right moment for me to move on and focus on my health. I look back on these past twelve years with warmth and gratitude.”
Looking back now, he said, “My plan was to take it easy for a while – teach here and there, just kind of re-calibrate.” When an evening honoring Carolyn Adams was planned for last year’s Paul Taylor season, the company reached out to Battle. “Michael Novak asked if I would choreograph something to honor her. That began the process,” Battle said, of his more ongoing association.
His resident choreographer appointment is a five-year commitment. “I didn’t expect it, since they already had Lauren Lovette. They said, ‘why only have one?’ It just seemed to make sense, in terms of my career, and my connections to Paul Taylor and his work, to Carolyn. So many reasons made it seem like the right thing to do.”
Working with the dancers on Under the Rhythm has been a comfortable fit from the start. “I think from having been around, and watching the company as often as I have over the years – it didn’t feel like I was jumping in cold. I knew their qualities, and of course had met all of them. So it didn’t feel foreign; it felt more inevitable, I would say. They’ve been so receptive, and excited about my being there.”
His piece is set to a wide-ranging and personally meaningful selection of music: Wycliffe Gordon, Steve Reich, Ella Fitzgerald, and Mahalia Jackson. “It’s really a tribute to my mom – who not only was an English teacher in her career but also an actress. She was part of a group, when I was younger, that performed poetry and song relating to the Black experience. She also played piano (and still does) for the church we went to in Miami. So here was always music in the home – jazz, spirituals, etc.
“I realized that all of the music I was choosing for this dance had some relationship to what my mom introduced me to as a child. They are all pieces of music that really spoke to me. It became a lot more personal narrative –more than I thought it would be when I started to think about the work. I’m interested in honoring the people who really made a difference in my life. It’s so important to thank them.”
