The ELEVATE Art Festival will have performances from the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and other Atlanta dancers this year. The performances on Tuesday and Thursday will provide insight into issues including inequity, food insecurity, and isolation, but also seek to inspire hope, resilience, and activism.
“City Lights” host Lois Reitzes spoke via Zoom with Robert Battle, the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre about the group’s partnership with Atlanta for the last 40 years.
“Alvin Ailey, as the organization but also the man, I think saw an opportunity to give a voice to the voiceless through modern dance. He wanted a platform for those stories to be told that weren’t being told,” Battle said.
Destination Dance Ailey Atlanta was created as a way to engage with the city’s vibrant cultural community through this partnership. Renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey, and founder of the dance theater, once said, “Dance came from the people, and it should always be delivered back to the people.”
The festival is being held virtually Oct. 4-10.
