A man jumps in the middle splits in the air. He's shirtless with red pants on.

Repertory

Takademe

CHOREOGRAPHER

ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER PREMIERE

Deutsche Oper, Berlin, 2011

AILEY II PREMIERE

2000

WORLD PREMIERE

Parsons Dance Company, The Joyce Theater, New York, 1999

RESTAGING

Kanji Segawa

MUSIC

“Speaking in Tongues II” performed by Sheila Chandra. Courtesy of Real World Records Ltd.

ORIGINAL COSTUMES

Missoni

COSTUMES

Re-design by Jon Taylor

LIGHTING

Burke Wilmore

RUN TIME

3 Minutes

Robert Battle’s bravura work mixes humor and high-flying movement in a savvy deconstruction of Indian Kathak dance rhythms. Clear shapes and propulsive jumps mimic the vocalized syllables of Sheila Chandra's syncopated score.

For Battle, the work represents his modest beginnings as a dancemaker and reminds him of how far he’s come. He created Takademe when he was a dancer with the Parsons Dance Company, in a living room in Queens, New York. “Most dances have a lot to do with restrictions and problem-solving,” he explains. “One of the problems was that we didn’t have a lot of space, so the dance stays very stationary. But then when we finally got studio space […] the movement travels on a long diagonal. Freedom.” 

…one can add Battle’s name to the list of brilliant solo choreographers such as Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn.

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

…[a] fast-moving excursion into rhythmic exotica.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

AILEY II SUPPORT

The Ailey II production of Takademe was supported by Kim van Doorn.

Sponsors

Generous support for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater premiere of Takademe was provided by The Pamela D. Zilly & John H. Schaefer New Works Endowment Fund and the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey through the generosity of the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation and individual donors.