Robert Battle has been named Resident Choreographer of the Paul Taylor Dance Company effective immediately, it was announced today by Artistic Director Michael Novak.
The former Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and his own Battleworks, Mr. Battle joins Lauren Lovette, who was named Resident Choreographer of the Taylor Company in 2022.
“The dancers and I look forward to many more wonderful works …”
“Robert Battle brings a wealth of talent and knowledge to Taylor,” said Mr. Novak, “and I’m deeply gratified that he accepted this position. His Dedicated to You, in honor of his mentor Carolyn Adams, who is our Director of Education, will have its World Premiere during our season at Lincoln Center in November. The dancers and I look forward to many more wonderful works by him in the coming years.”
Personally selected by Judith Jamison, Mr. Battle served as Artistic Director of the Ailey Company from 2011 to 2023, and after Alvin Ailey and Ms. Jamison was only the third person to head the Company since its founding in 1958. He had been a frequent choreographer and artist in residence at Ailey since 1999. Mr. Battle set many of his works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School. The Company’s repertory includes his ballets Ella, For Four, In/Side, Love Stories finale, Mass, and Unfold. In addition to expanding the Ailey repertory with works by artists as diverse as Kyle Abraham, Mauro Bigonzetti, Ronald K. Brown, Rennie Harris, and Paul Taylor, Mr. Battle instituted the New Directions Choreography Lab to help develop the next generation of choreographers.
Mr. Battle danced with Parsons Dance from 1994 to 2001 and founded his own Battleworks Dance Company in 2002. He was honored as one of the “Masters of African American Choreography” by the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2005, and received the Statue Award from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA in 2007. He is a recipient of the 2021 Dance Magazine Award and has honorary doctorates from The University of the Arts, Marymount Manhattan College, and Fordham University.
Taylor’s Resident Choreographer position was made possible by the Taylor Future Dance Initiative (TFDI), funded by an initial gift in 2024 of one million dollars from Taylor Board Vice Chair Stephen Kroll Reidy. The new gift builds upon Mr. Reidy’s previous support, which established the Taylor Dancemaker Fund in 2018. TFDI will develop a cohort of resident choreographers who will work with the Company in a framework of mutual commitment over an extended period of years. With multi-year contracts and sustaining financial support, resident choreographers of TFDI will be freed from the challenges of freelancing. In accordance with Founder Paul Taylor’s philosophy and Mr. Novak’s vision, the Taylor Company is providing dancemakers with a home to focus on creating a new era of modern dance.
Said Mr. Novak, “In working with our inaugural Resident Choreographer, Lauren Lovette, I’ve seen the enormous value of the position: a consistent creative force for our dancers, a creative partner for me as Artistic Director, and a focal point for our audience’s experience. The Resident Choreographer is fundamental to all of our efforts and output. This new initiative reinforces Mr. Reidy’s and my belief that dancemakers deserve sustainable work and financial stability.”
Stephen Kroll Reidy is a major philanthropic force in New York City dance. He joined Taylor’s Board of Directors in 2019 and has been Vice Chair since 2022. He also serves as Treasurer of the Board of New York City Ballet, and is on the Advisory Boards of that company’s New Combinations Fund, which supports the creation of new work, and its affiliate, the New York Choreographic Institute. In addition, Mr. Reidy is Chair of the Board of Works & Process, President of the Board of BalletCollective, and serves on the Board of Dance Lab New York. A former Director of the City Center for Music and Drama, he provides advice and support to several independent choreographers and their companies. Mr. Reidy recently retired as a General Partner at EuclidSR Partners, a New York-based venture capital firm focused on healthcare investments.
“… Taylor continues to innovate, create and transform.”
One of the world’s leading dance organizations, the Paul Taylor Dance Company is based in New York City and has vast international reach. Under the artistic direction of Mr. Novak, who has taken the Company in bold new directions over the past six years, Taylor continues to innovate, create and transform. Opening a vast new headquarters in Midtown in January, Taylor Dance West, to add to its longtime downtown studios, Taylor Dance East, Taylor is positioned to be a greater resource in New York City, the heart of the dance universe. In its new headquarters, it will offer a broad spectrum of dance, fitness, and education that remain core to the Company’s mission. Taylor Dance West will enable the Company to connect with greater and more diverse audiences across New York and provide a central home for the creative communities. After the expansion to Midtown is complete and open to the public at the end of 2024, the Taylor School will continue to maintain operations on the Lower East Side, where thousands of dance students and community members have trained over recent years. In three sites across the city— Lincoln Center for the annual performance season, Midtown for Company creation and training, and the Lower East Side for dance instruction and community engagement — together realize Mr. Novak’s vision to create multiple spaces across the city to connect with the world of Taylor.
Leadership funding provided by Stephen Kroll Reidy. Major support provided by The SHS Foundation, Jody and John Arnhold, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Lincoln Center Season sponsorship support provided by Baron Capital Group, Inc. Additional major funding provided by S&P Global, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, and The Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation.
Year-round programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. Paul Taylor Dance Company gratefully acknowledges the estates of Harlan Morse Blake and Mary J. Osborn for their transformational gifts.
Photo credit: by Marie Cowan.
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