Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has just launched a 20-city U.S. tour under its new artistic director Alicia Graf Mack.

She's a renowned former Ailey dancer herself and an educator who is now fusing those roles to leave the modern dance troupe which starred back in 1958.

She joined me in the studio this week as part of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

Alicia Graft-Mack, welcome to the NewsHour.

Thank you. It's a pleasure to be here.

You're only the fourth artistic director in the 70-year history of Alvinale, and you're launching your first season by opening the national tour here in Washington.

When you step into rehearsal now or even a performance,

what feels most different from the last time when you danced with the company? It does feel like

a wonderful homecoming to return to the company now in this role as I had danced with the company

for six years. I have a great responsibility to hold this very important organization in my hands.

I am so supported by the artistic team, by our administration, by our audience, by the community

in this work, and it feels like nothing short of a blessing.

I saw where you said previously that the organization is really rooted in Alvin Ailey's big dream.

How do you honor the specificity of his vision and the tradition of Ailey

while still making space for new voices and new pieces, new choreography?

Mr. Ailey set the blueprint so many years ago when he founded the company space for new voices and new pieces, new choreography.

Mr. Ailey set the blueprint so many years ago when he founded the company, he not only wanted to highlight his own choreographic voice and create the works that he made, as he said,

from his blood memories of growing up in rural south in Texas, but also

that he wanted to provide a platform for emerging choreographers, for new voices, and specifically

for choreographers of color, as there was not that many platforms for those artists to share their work. And so this is the blueprint that I follow,

even now in 2006, that we honor his voice and we always perform his works, including

Revelations, which is a work that is seen by more people around the world than any other

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