February 15, 2017

Born in 1931, Alvin Ailey was a Black choreographer and activist. He founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in NYC. His company nicknamed him “Cultural Ambassador to the World” due to his international touring. He popularized modern dancing and revolutionized Black participation in concert dance. In San Francisco in 1951, he met and became friends with Marguerite Johnson. You know who she is?? MAYA ANGELOU. And, they performed a nightclub act they called “Al and Rita.” (How precious is that?) His company was multi-rational and he was proud of that. He wanted to both provide opportunities for Black dancers that were skipped over due to racism and employ dancers based on talent and integrity rather than race.

What really made Alvin unique was that he never trained his dancers in any specific technique before they performed his choreography. He wanted them to provide their own personal style that showcased their talent. This brought concert dance and other forms of Black expression, like big band jazz, together.

Unfortunately, Alvin passed at the age of 59 in 1989 from HIV/AIDS.

Alvin did numerous things I haven’t even touched in this post. To learn more about his life, read his biography here: http://www.biography.com/people/alvin-ailey-9177959#synopsis

For a special treat, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater recently created a dance inspired by Moonlight, which won a Golden Globe Award for best motion picture—Drama. View here: https://www.timeout.com/…/watch-this-powerful-video-from-al…