Dancer Troy Powell plays a pivotal role in shaping Ailey II, a touring modern dance company that follows in the footsteps of acclaimed African-American choreographer Alvin Ailey. The troupe appears in Honolulu on Tuesday.

But his destiny was not so clear when a 9-year-old Powell showed off his cool moves at a ’70s dance workshop in his Harlem elementary school. He had no idea it would change his life forever.

The workshop was actually an audition to select talented youth for a special scholarship at a Manhattan school of dance. Two weeks after he showed off those moves, Powell received a letter saying he had made the cut.

The school made a difference right away for Powell, 48. Three days a week, he left Harlem behind for dance lessons at Ailey’s Midtown Manhattan studios. The youngest of seven siblings being raised by a single mom, Powell was able to take lessons his family would otherwise never have been able to afford.

Ailey had risen from his own roots of poverty and racism in a South Texas town to change the prevailing perception that modern dance was somehow for whites only. But at the start, Powell and his family didn’t realize that his exuberant African-American dancer and teacher was an internationally hailed artist, choreographer and director.

As Powell learned more, he quickly grasped the value of his dance instruction and his teacher’s importance. Now he works to carry on Ailey’s legacy.

Alvin Ailey founded the group known today as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958. He achieved fame for his choreography and dance with the group, one of the first African-American dance companies to tour the globe.

Later he made the company multiracial and as diverse as the dance elements that he favored blending within a single body: stately ballet lines for the legs and West African expressiveness in the torso.

Ailey broke many other barriers by turning tributes to his own African-American heritage into masterpieces of choreography, widely applauded for summoning deep emotion.

In Powell’s boyhood view Ailey was better than famous. He was a successful African-American man, his positive role model.

Over the course of his dance training, Powell distinguished himself in Ailey’s eyes, and the younger dancer was later accepted into Manhattan’s renowned High School for the Performing Arts.

“‘Do you see yourself dancing with the company someday? Perhaps in the next five years?’” Powell recalled Ailey asking as the student continued through high school, still on scholarship and taking classes at the great mentor’s studio.

“I was so awestruck by him. I was almost afraid to say yes, but I knew he had seen my hunger,” Powell said. “Every time I stepped on stage or into a studio, I danced full-out. This was something I had to do.”

Two years after Ailey’s death in 1989, Powell realized his dream of touring with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, becoming a company member. He went on to become an Ailey School master teacher and resident choreographer.

Powell’s devotion to the Ailey alchemy continues today. In 2012 he became the artistic director of Ailey II, a company made up of just 12 talented, up-and-coming modern dancers. It falls to Powell to pick the dazzling dozen out of thousands of hopefuls at the Ailey school and match them with emerging choreographers.

Ailey II was created in 1974 and originally known as the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble. Dancers from the company stay with the troupe for two years, then may move on to the primary Ailey company or to other dance troupes.

As only the second artistic director that the Ailey II company has had — its first, Sylvia Waters, was handpicked by Ailey himself — Powell has distinguished himself by adding to the group’s repertoire fresh and challenging works by choreographers from across the globe. He mentions Korean-born Jae Man Joo and Dallas native Bridget L. Moore, award-winning choreographers recognized for showcasing the unrivaled energy of a next generation of dancers.

The Ailey II ensemble cast appears in concert in Honolulu on Valentine’s Day — a fitting date, noted Powell, given Ailey’s passion for paying it forward. Ballet Hawaii is presenting the dance concert here.

Ailey was convinced that audiences love the unfettered energy of dance, Powell said — and Ailey also felt that the passion and energy in dance is best infused by continuously opening passageways to the art for upcoming generations.

“Mr. Ailey went right out into communities of all kinds looking to open doors,” Powell said, believing that young dancers would be “empowered by dance and use it as an outlet to rise above any negativity and distractions.”

Many stereotypes that Ailey fought so hard to defy still persist today and can cost dancers principal roles or, at the very least, bruise their confidence. Powell said he takes a page from his mentor in discouraging dancers from using outsiders’ measuring sticks to judge themselves.

The Ailey creed was that audiences “did not want to see look-alike, cookie-cutter performers — no matter how perfect their technical excellence,” Powell said.

Ailey told a personal story through his profoundly affecting masterpieces, Powell said. He also envisioned his choreography as experiences that artists could constantly reinvigorate with their own deep emotions.

“Good dance is never just about white or black or anything one thing in between. It’s about being human,” Powell said. “There is nothing quite like communicating your ideas through the total freedom of your body. It’s a way of healing yourself and educating others.”

Ailey II dancers train and prepare to reach the pinnacle of professional performance, learning the broad mix of techniques Ailey wove together. They then tour in front of audiences who expect heaven-sent grace and athleticism to roll off the limbs of anyone connected with Ailey.

“The expectations are high,” Powell acknowledged.

Troupe members learn to fuel their creativity by being open-minded, as was Ailey. “Even though his fame was built on elevating black dance, he was open to all cultures,” Powell said.

Ultimately, the troupe chooses dancers who have “the courage to truly reveal themselves on stage.”