Sun Sentinel - Miami Native Returns To South Florida With Alvin Ailey Dance Company
In his head, Miami native and professional dancer Jamar Roberts is two different people. One is the private person who lives in New York City.
In his head, Miami native and professional dancer Jamar Roberts is two different people. One is the private person who lives in New York City.
The Alvin Ailey Dancers are poetry in motion, and some of their grace and power is from South Florida. Jamar Roberts is a shining star with the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, but his dance career started here in SoFlo, where this dynamic dancer graduated from the New World School of the Arts.
After a long day's work, most people like to plop down in front of the TV to unwind - but not Jamar Roberts. The 22-year-old dancer dancer, choreographer, illustrator, and fashion designer considers the act of watching television an exploration of what's happening behind the lens.
When awarding a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom to choreographer Alvin Ailey, President Barack Obama said, "Through him, African American history was told in a way that it had never been before - with passionate, virtuoso dance performances that transfixed audiences worldwide."
Despite glowing praise from the press, if Jamar Roberts is a god of dance, he's a rather humble one. To hear him tell it, the demands of being a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey are such that moments of grandiosity are few and far between.
The enduring Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, with featured star Jamar Roberts and artistic director Robert Battle, both of Miami, takes its role as arts educators just as seriously as its work on stage.
One of the most magnificent joys of the holiday season is the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2013 season at City Center in Midtown Manhattan. This thrilling five-week long season, with Artistic Director Robert BAttle at the helm, features the extraordinarily talented dance company performing a repertory reflective of Ailey's trademark diversity.
The voice on the phone belonged to Masazumi Chaya, the associate artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and he had a startling proposition. Would she - Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, 55 years old, former Ailey superstar and current artificial-hip owner - come out of retirement to dance at a special performance on New Year's Eve?
The new Ailey, from McGregor to Barton, Robert Battle is pushing the Company into fresh territory.
There is a lot of foot rubbing and neck rolling in the room when you hang out with five men from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater on a morning after they've performed "The Hunt." The furious and powerful ensemble work serves as the main calling card for Robert Battle, artistic director designate, on Ailey's North American tour.