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This story originally appeared in the spring/summer 2025 edition of �鶹ӰԺ magazine.

Trust your voice.

For Robert Battle, those three words speak to an artistic journey that has taken him to unanticipated heights in the dance world. Spoken in 2011 by the iconic Judith Jamison as she handed him the keys to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the advice would become a calling card for Battle for the next dozen years as he navigated the creative and cultural pressures that come with being the artistic director of one of the country’s most revered arts organizations.

“I think that’s one of the hardest things for artists, perhaps even people beyond artistic experiences—to trust their inner voice, to trust their instinct,” Battle said.

From 2011 through late 2023, he carried the New York-based Ailey to new levels of brilliance—hailed for introducing works by emerging artists and nurturing young talent while staying true to the dance company’s signature repertoire and cultural relevancy. It was an exhilarating ride that lasted until he stepped away to explore new artistic endeavors.

And now Battle has delivered that same message—trust your voice—to students at �鶹ӰԺ University in his role as the university’s 2024-25 Creator in Residence. The newly launched residency will bring world-renowned creators to �鶹ӰԺ to collaborate with and inspire students and faculty.

“I think artmaking is so much about that,” Battle said of bringing the trust-your-voice lesson to students. “Yes, there’s technique involved but there’s mostly instinct, there’s mostly gut feelings about things before that paint brush hits the canvas or before that dance step comes out of you. You feel that what you have to say needs to be heard. I think that’s what I took from it, and to trust that is the hardest thing to do because of so many outside voices.”

Made possible through a gift from Harold ’72 and Mary Donn ’73 Jordan, the Creator in Residence program speaks to the university's commitment to academic and artistic excellence. Future Creator in Residence programming is expected to span a range of disciplines, from sciences to humanities to arts.

“The program is built on a concept of collaboration—with students, faculty, and the community,” President Laurie A. Carter said. “These accomplished creators will come from across the academic disciplines, all creating in different ways, from performances and exhibitions to lectures and master classes. And many of them will bring with them a global following. We’re excited to see where it goes.”

“A lot to express”

Battle set the tone for the new program over the past year, meeting with students and faculty across campus and leading dance and music students in the creation of an original dance performance, "Gather Together," presented on campus in May. Additional performances and workshops were presented to students from Appleton schools. 

Battle said early talks with campus leaders about the vision for the Creator in Residence program drew him to �鶹ӰԺ.

“We got to talking about this notion of infusing creativity and artistic dance into more parts of academia and how that might work,” he said.

The connection with students was immediate when Battle spent a week on campus in the fall.

“These students are multifaceted,” Battle said. “They’re really smart, and they value art, they value dance. They have a lot to express, a lot to say.”

Magazine: See the spring/summer 2025 edition of �鶹ӰԺ

When he returned to campus in February, Battle worked with students and faculty on a performance built on artistic expression. It evolved organically, collaboratively. Fourteen dance students, under the tutelage of Margaret Paek and Mauriah Donegan Kraker, both visiting assistant professors of dance, were selected for the performance.

Battle said he usually comes in with steps already set. But he wanted this to be a collaborative process, with creative ideas flowing both ways.

“To me, that’s my excitement, to always be learning, investigating, trying new things,” he said. “I think this is a space where I felt safe to do that, very much supported by the faculty and by the dancers.”

Battle then returned in Spring Term to finalize and present the performance, working in partnership with rehearsal director Donegan Kraker and Conservatory faculty Loren Kiyoshi Dempster and Jean Carlo Ureña Gonzalez. Held in the Esch Hurvis Studio in Warch Campus Center, the performances featured the student dancers, Conservatory faculty, and student musicians, all collaborating with Battle on an original composition and choreography. 

Ella Fajardo-Wilde, a sophomore from Brooklyn, New York, who grew up immersed in dance, called the experience “incredibly rewarding and boundary-pushing.” She had a solo in the dance performance where her input was not only sought but encouraged by Battle.

“He met me at my dance level while still challenging my choreography memory, endurance, and focus,” Fajardo-Wilde said. “He ensured that this beautiful cast was seen and appreciated for the uniqueness, skill, and grace each individual brought.”

And it wasn’t all about dance. Fajardo-Wilde said Battle connected with the students and the instructors in ways that built trust. That’s not always a given when someone so accomplished is coming in from the outside.

“As a Brooklyn, New York, native, I grew up with Alvin Ailey all around me—seeing the posters, watching the company perform, and knowing about the prestigious program that thousands train and work for years to join,” Fajardo-Wilde said. “Initially, I felt intimidated and nervous to approach or even talk to him. However, the times we talked about different Brooklyn neighborhoods, our similarities and differences in food preferences, or how our days were going, I always found myself enjoying an amazing conversation.”

Donegan Kraker called Battle’s interactions with students and faculty genuine and his collaborations inspirational—deep conversation around process and interdisciplinary possibilities.

“This cross-pollination of idea, interest, training is what makes �鶹ӰԺ unique, is what sets up our artists for post-�鶹ӰԺ success,” she said.

Eye on collaboration

It was a thrilling kick-off to a Creator in Residence program that �鶹ӰԺ leadership is excited to see grow. It comes as �鶹ӰԺ is investing in collaboration among the academic disciplines. Fall 2025 will see the opening of West Campus, where the second floor of the new building at E. College Avenue and Drew Street will feature offices and studios for Conservatory faculty, a Humanities Center, a recording studio, and offices and classrooms for math, computer science, and data science faculty—all equipped with innovative tools that will facilitate greater academic collaboration and creativity. On the building’s first floor will be the new home for the Trout Museum of Art, a nonprofit art gallery that will provide avenues to greater community partnership while adding another layer of creative energy to the �鶹ӰԺ campus.

What Battle brought to campus via the Creator in Residence program builds on that momentum.

Alison Scott-Williams, executive vice president and chief operating officer at �鶹ӰԺ, oversaw the inaugural collaborative program. She said she was incredibly moved by the knowledge, insight, and passion Battle added to the student experience.

“He has flourished at the highest levels of the arts world,” she said. “He has been a creative juggernaut in dance, a trend setter, someone who has thrived amid incredible expectations. How exciting to have him here on our campus, sharing all his creative energy and genius with the �鶹ӰԺ community. He has set the template for what the Creator in Residence program can be.”

“Everybody has a story”

Battle sees the Creator in Residence role, no matter the discipline, as an opportunity to reinforce lessons already being taught at �鶹ӰԺ. As he led classes and built a dance performance from scratch, students came prepared because they are already immersed daily in the creative process, he said. You can see it and feel it in the halls of the Conservatory, in the galleries of the Wriston Art Center, in research labs and humanities classrooms.

“Sometimes you have to hear it from somebody from the outside,” Battle said. “You can be saying the same thing day after day and then someone comes in and sort of reinforces what is being offered and is being taught.”

That, he said, extends beyond the arts. Whether it’s Battle sharing his journey in dance or students hearing from a future Creator in Residence accomplished in another discipline, that fresh voice—coming from a place of accomplishment—is important.

“I feel everybody has a story,” Battle said. “And for the students to have access to those stories, to those people, whether it be a scientist or an artist or a philosopher or a poet—everything at its foundation is imbued with creativity. I think that’s the link in terms of the Creator in Residence. Creativity is not just for artists. It really is for the world. We usually don’t see it that way. That term is relegated to artistic endeavors when, actually, creativity is all around us all the time and is an important component to progress.”

A new focus

�鶹ӰԺ’s Creator in Residence was one of Battle’s first opportunities after stepping away from the Ailey company.

“It was hard to walk away,” he said of leaving Ailey. “It’s a dream job. I think of it as more than a job; it’s a calling. But I think any good performer knows when to leave the stage, when you’ve said what you wanted to say and it’s time for someone else to take the stage.”

Battle, now in his early 50s, said he embraced the building of a dance community and family with Ailey. That included being on tour for eight months of the year and all the experiences that come with it.

“Sometimes you have to sort of let something go in order to move to the next phase of your life,” Battle said.” Sometimes, because we’re afraid to let go, we hold on to things much longer than they need to be held and then you miss an opportunity to grow.”

The opportunities since stepping away have been plentiful. In addition to the one-year role at �鶹ӰԺ, Battle has been named resident choreographer of the Paul Taylor Dance Company and has been invited to teach or speak at other colleges.

“It’s wonderful because I can now drop in and then move forward,” Battle said. “I get to sort of be an independent artist again, which is exciting—to be in different spaces with different organizations that have different footprints and different modes of working. That’s what is happening now.”

At �鶹ӰԺ and elsewhere, Battle said, it feels good to give back, to be that inspiration to others that his teachers and mentors were to him.

“I’ve done a lot in my career in dance,” he said. “I’ve climbed ladders and mountains that I didn’t even think possible, the pinnacle being artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. I feel I’m at this place in my career where I really want to give back in meaningful ways.”

That was evident as the year progressed and the �鶹ӰԺ dance performance came into focus. Paek said the power of creative collaboration could be seen throughout the rehearsal process as the students leaned into the work, supported each other, and embraced Battle’s lessons—insights into choreography at the highest levels. While the rehearsals were exhausting, the interactions and teaching moments that emerged could only happen when all parties are deeply invested.

“This kind of hands-on-experience—creating art together as faculty, professional artists, and students—this is what �鶹ӰԺ does so well and why the Creator in Residence program is so specifically well-suited to �鶹ӰԺ,” Paek said.