Like Alvin Ailey before him, Robert Battle takes inspiration from his church background in this dance of rebirth that parallels the new life Ailey II is embarking on in its next era. In Alleluia, Battle seamlessly meshes the foot stomping and hand gestures of the Baptist Church with classical Baroque idioms, setting seven dancers robed in white in a sustained burst of motion that builds to an ecstatic finale. 

Music Credits

* “III. Sinfonia- Aria,” “IV. Recitativo,” and “V. Aria. Largo” from Su Le Sponde Del Tebro (Cantata A Voce Sola Con Violini E Tromba), composed by Alessandro Scarlatti.

“Eternal Source of Light Divine” from Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne, HWV 74, composed by George Frideric Handel.

“I. Aria: Jauchzet Gott In Allen Landen” and “IV. Chorale: Sei Lob Und Preis Mit Ehren; Alleluja” from Jauchzet Gott in Allen Landen, Cantata No. 51, composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. Performed by Kathleen Battle, Wynton Marsalis, John Nelson, Anthony Newman, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Krista Bennion Feeney, Eriko Sato, John Feeney & Daire Fitzgerald.