Ailey's Choreography Unlocked Festival

Robert Battle and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar with New Directions Choreography Lab Alumni for the 2018 Choreography Unlocked Festival. Photo by Nicole Tintle

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater hosted the inaugural Choreography Unlocked Festival last weekend.  

The festival became a place where ideas and ambitions are born. Robert Battle is changing the conversation around how artists are nurtured, developed and mentored - if you haven’t seen the panel discussion hosted last month, it’s a must see! I laughed, I cried, I was inspired.

The collective gathered last weekend at Ailey’s home, a place that gave us the space to learn. I was most surprised not at how many artists I knew in the room, rather how many that I didn’t. New York is no longer the place where everyone knows each other.  It’s saturated with artists that are all competing for the same grants and festivals.  But this collective had a different tone, it felt safe and untethered from expectations.  

Jawole Willa Jo Zollar of Urban Bush Women gave us tools that ignited questions, and eventually the sharing of experiences and information.  We were encouraged to freeform, discuss, make discoveries, and maybe one day even challenge each others' discoveries.  I can’t wait for more!