ROBERT BATTLE

I never expected to go to Juilliard. When they came recruiting in Miami, I auditioned. I got a scholarship.

Reflection is not something you have a lot of time for.

I remember the Food Network when it was first starting out: Emeril Lagasse and all those people who helped make it when it was on a shoestring budget. It actually encouraged me to start cooking.

Seeing 'Revelations' made me want to be a professional dancer.

I grew up in a household that had its roots in church and community and culture and poetry and song and in the arts. Those aspects certainly shaped what I do.

I studied martial arts before I studied dance.

My first professional relationship, I danced with the Parsons Dance Company, and David Parsons, my former boss, allowed me to choreograph on the company.

I believe dance is a manifestation and celebration of the tenacity of the human spirit.

'Revelations' is one of the most important pieces to the African American arts. It assesses the hope and despair of a people and overcoming the struggle with our faith.

There's a part of me that never felt my mother abandoned me. I always felt that she did the right thing.

I grew up in a household that had its roots in church and community and culture and poetry and song and in the arts. Those aspects certainly shaped what I do.

I wanted to be an Ailey dancer. I would watch Alvin Ailey videos over and over, and I'd picture myself doing that. I was obsessed with it.

Performing abroad is ambassadorial.

'Revelations' is one of the most important pieces to the African American arts. It assesses the hope and despair of a people and overcoming the struggle with our faith.

I studied martial arts before I studied dance.

Reflection is not something you have a lot of time for.

I grew up in a very spiritual home in a Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, FL. I was raised in the church, and my mother was a very inspirational person in my life.

My first professional relationship, I danced with the Parsons Dance Company, and David Parsons, my former boss, allowed me to choreograph on the company.

Seeing 'Revelations' made me want to be a professional dancer.

I come from strong people who believe in the freedom of expression and, of course, a culture that believes in that. So the idea of overcoming adversity is something that is not unfamiliar.

I never expected to go to Juilliard. When they came recruiting in Miami, I auditioned. I got a scholarship.

There's a part of me that never felt my mother abandoned me. I always felt that she did the right thing.

Eating is a necessity but a pleasure as well.

I remember the Food Network when it was first starting out: Emeril Lagasse and all those people who helped make it when it was on a shoestring budget. It actually encouraged me to start cooking.

I studied dance at a high school arts magnet program before moving on to Miami's New World School of the Arts, and from there, I went on to study at The Juilliard School.

I believe dance is a manifestation and celebration of the tenacity of the human spirit.