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 (excerpt), 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

* 4. Cantata No. 51, "Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen," BWV 51 (BC A134): No. 4, [Chorale] Sei Lob Und Preis Mit Ehren. Allelujah. By: Kathleen Battle, Wynton Marsalis, John Nelson, Anthony Newman, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Krista Bennion Feeney, Eriko Sato, John Feeney & Daire Fitzgerald.