Alicia Graf's dance career has resembled a phoenix, the mythical firebird that was reduced to ashes only to rise again.

She was discovered at age 13 by the founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem. By 17, the Maryland girl had joined that New York company.

At 20, just hitting her stride, her knees and ankles swelled, and she started having a lot of pain.

Nine years and many travails later, she is an admired dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which performs Friday through Sunday at Chrysler Hall. This is the New York group's third appearance here since 2004 as part of the Virginia Arts Festival.

The festival landed the renowned company during its 50th anniversary. How altered is Ailey from its origins in 1958?

"Honestly, I don't think it's that much different," said Graf, speaking last month from the road, in Iowa City, Iowa. "The true essence is still the same, and the mission of the company is still the same: to expose people to the joy and beauty of dance."

Graf discovered how much she loved dance when it was taken away from her.

From age 20, she had several operations and saw numerous doctors. About 18 months into her ordeal, she recalled emerging from the subway and spying a Dance Theatre of Harlem poster with her on it.

"I remember sobbing uncontrollably, rocking like a crazy person," she told Smithsonian magazine for a story last fall. "That was the lowest point."

Eventually she was diagnosed with reactive arthritis, received treatment and recovered enough to begin performing in churches as a praise dancer.

Now, she said, "everything I do, I do for God."

She rejoined the Harlem ballet company, until it went on a hiatus. Soon after, in 2005, she was hired by the Ailey troupe.

Ailey does not go with the traditional setup of principal soloists and corps de ballet. Instead, all dancers are listed alphabetically, and everyone performs in both large and small roles.

Graf is one of 30 dancers in the ensemble. Still, critics have paid special attention to her.

The New York Times wrote that she was "so good that she became the news of the night all by herself." The Washington Post reported that she "extends her legs so high it's as if she's trying to play footsy with God."

Graf, 29, will perform in several of the dances being presented in Norfolk. She's the 123-pound, 5-foot-10-inch dancer with a full head of long, dark, corkscrew curls and large, brown eyes.

Among the dances billed is "Firebird," Maurice Bejart's 1970 ballet to Stravinsky's "The Firebird Suite," featuring a phoenix as one of its characters. Another is "The Golden Section," an exuberant piece choreographed by Twyla Tharp to David Byrne's propulsive score.

"The Road of the Phoebe Snow," about a turbulent love affair in an urban setting, was choreographed by Talley Beatty to jazz by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn.

And there is "Revelations," the company's signature piece, created by the troupe's founder in 1960. With that work, Ailey (1931-1989) was reflecting on the music of his Texas youth, from blues to spirituals. The piece blends a range of influences: Henry Moore's abstract sculpture inspired him to costume his dancers in stretch jersey, to elongate and abstract their forms.

"One of the promises of my company is that its repertoire will include pieces that ordinary people can understand," Ailey once wrote. "I still dream that my folks down on the farm in Texas can come to an Ailey concert and know and appreciate what is happening onstage.

"That's my perception of what dance should be - a popular form wrenched from the elite."

The company's roots are in the expression of black American culture and dance traditions, yet it also strives to make more universal statements about the human condition.

There is no single type of Ailey dancer. While many of the dancers are black, others come from Japanese, French and Filipino heritage, Graf said. Their backgrounds encompass many styles, ballet to modern.

Graf was trained in classical ballet but has adapted well to the diverse performing styles presented by the Ailey company.

"She can do anything," said Lorraine Graves of Norfolk, a former principal dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem. Graves got to know Graf when she was a teen with that company. "I just really think she's a special gift to the dance world.

"I mean that sincerely. Sometimes you come across these rarities, and she's one of them."

Graf called Graves "one of my mentors" and said she was hoping Graves would be leading "company class" again before performances, as she did in 2006. (Graves said she will.)

For Graf, that will make Norfolk seem more like home.

Graves kept up with Graf as she sought to heal herself. Rather than lose something by being out of the dance world for several years, Graf "gained maturity," Graves said, "and even some confidence. I also think she's very smart about her dancing now.

"Now I think she really listens to her body. Your body is your livelihood. You have to listen. Sometimes your mind says keep going and your body says don't do it, stop, take a couple of weeks off - as opposed to injuring yourself and being out for a year.

"She's a smart dancer now, and that's what we have to be, if we want to continue."

Teresa Annas, (757) 446-2485, teresa.annas@pilotonline.com