LOS ANGELES — The Music Center is welcoming back the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The return consists of five nights of performance and learning that will also celebrate Robert Battle’s 10th year as the company’s artistic director. Battle said the last two years have been trying.

“You know, there are moments I feel that [10 years] flew by, and then time, when you think of the pandemic, it felt like another ten years put into two years,” he said.

Staying creative during the pandemic was a challenge, but the company pushed through.

“We’re all about bringing people together,” said Battle of their return to touring. “So it’s, wow!”

The performance series, which is part of the 19th season of Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, features both classic Ailey works along with newer ones. Battle explained that bringing these dance pieces to Los Angeles has special meaning for the company, which has many roots in the city. Ailey studied at UCLA and joined Lester Horton’s LA-based dance troupe in 1953.

One of the featured works is "Cry," a 16-minute tour de force creation that was an instant classic when it debuted back in 1971.

“He created [it] as a gift to his mother,” Battle said. “In the program, he always wanted to say it’s for Black women everywhere, especially our mothers.”

And the centerpiece of the series is "Revelations," often considered Alvin Ailey’s masterwork, which has been inspiring generations through its powerful storytelling since it was created in 1960.

“You can feel a certain palpable energy, especially around 'Revelations,' because it just speaks to our common humanity,” Battle said.

The company’s roots in LA also rest with associate artistic director Matthew Rushing, who was born in LA and began training in Inglewood under Kashmir Blake. Rushing noted that seeing the Alvin Ailey company as a youth was a life-changing experience.

“Not only [was I] seeing people who looked like me but also I saw my own experiences danced on stage in Mr. Ailey’s iconic work 'Revelations,'” Rushing said. “We have this mantra that we always repeat the came from Mr. Ailey, ‘Dance came from the people. It should be delivered back to the people.’ Now we’re back on tour, and it feels amazing.”

Battle said that when he first became the company’s artistic director, he felt a huge responsibility of balancing traditional Ailey foundations while also pushing the company forward.

“[We want to be] conscious of past, present and future and stay on that precipice of exciting audiences, entertaining them but also educating as well with the work that I choose.”

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was founded in 1958 on the brink of the civil rights movement. Battle said that while the times have changed, many challenges remain, and the company will continue to rise to the occasion.