and still the showpiece of the renowned alvin ailey american dance theater.pened the eyes and minds of many, including in the 1980s, a teenager living in one of miami's poorest neighborhoods. >> i saw myself. i saw possibility. >> brown: years later, robert battle heads the company that helped change his own life. how did you see your task when you took over the company? >> wow, that's-- just to survive! >> brown: first, survive. >> first survive. >> brown: battle is just the third leader of a company that was founded by alvin ailey in 1958 as a troupe celebrating african-american culture. and then led to even greater international heights by judith jamison, a renowned dancer in the company who was tapped by ailey to take over. five years ago, jamison picked battle to replace her. >> i think she thought that this was right for the company, that i would sort of push the boundaries of what people thought was possible. >> brown: in his prominent new role, battle has opened up about his own boundary-pushing, including in a new children's book: he barely knew his