For Kirven James Boyd, his return to the Wang Theatre will be a sentimental one.

“It’s a really amazing feeling going back to the Wang,” says the dancer, who comes to his hometown as part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. “It’s really, literally, a dream come true.”

It was a quick road to the top for Boyd, who studied dance at the Boston Arts Academy and Boston Conser-vatory before he joined Ailey, one of the top dance companies in the country. Yet, dancing on a national stage with top-notch dancers comes with difficulties.

Reflecting on his struggles, he notes that they’ve primarily been issues of character.

“I’m a perfectionist, always striving for better jumps, more turns,” notes Boyd. “I’m constantly working on myself.”

While confidence and skill have brought him this far, he recognizes that all dancers have their strengths and weaknesses. He says confidence is what makes dancers sink or swim: “I don’t think every artist is capable of doing everything.”

This, combined with the exhausting touring life of a professional dancer at Ailey, makes the road to the top a bumpy one.

“I think that I trained around people who are really hard workers,”?he says. “That keeps me levelheaded. I know that I’ll always have to try my best and work my hardest.”

Poster boy

Kirven James Boyd is the poster boy for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, literally. The dancer is one of the main images on promotional posters for the current tour, but he says being singled out is not part of the Ailey agenda.

“The good thing about the company is that we’re all individuals, and it doesn’t matter who can do more than who,” Boyd muses. “I don’t ask for opportunities. Why waste time trying to get what other people have while there are things that you have to do staring at you in the face?”