Alvin Ailey (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989), 1955. Photo by Carl Van Vechten.Alvin Ailey, who d
Alvin Ailey (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989), 1955. Photo by Carl Van Vechten.Alvin Ailey, who died twenty-seven years ago today, “rose from a childhood of extreme poverty in the segregated world of small-town Texas to become a leading figure in the establishment of modern dance as a popular art form in America,” and he revolutionized African American participation in 20th-century concert dance. After Ailey’s mother struggled to find work in Depression-era Texas, she and her son moved to Los Angeles in 1942, where Alvin Ailey eventually was introduced to the Hollywood dance studio of Lester Horton. Horton, who taught ballet, jazz, Native American dance, among other styles, proved to be Ailey’s greatest influence. In 1951, Ailey moved to San Francisco, where he met Marguerite Johnson, who later changed her name to Maya Angelou; the two occasionally performed a nightclub act called “Al & Rita.”By 1953, Ailey returned to Los Angeles, where he appeared in several films and made his debut in Horton’s company; that same year, Horton died and, although Ailey was only 22, he stepped up to fill the role of artistic director of the company. From there, Ailey moved to New York City to perform on Broadway, though he soon found that the modern dance scene of New York City was not to his liking. Thus, in 1958, Ailey formed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, which, according to the New York Times, “became the most popular dance company on the international touring circuit…known for its vibrant artistry and repertory, and for Mr. Ailey’s motivating humanist vision.” Ailey’s best known work, “Revelations,” is a classic of modern American dance. “Its roots are in American Negro culture, which is part of the whole country’s heritage,” Ailey once explained. “But the dance speaks to everyone…Otherwise it wouldn’t work.”Alvin Ailey died on December 1, 1989; he was fifty-eight. At the time, his doctors reported that Ailey died of terminal blood dyscrasia; it later was revealed that Ailey had wanted to spare his mother the social stigma of the actual cause of his death: HIV/AIDS-related illness. #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #AlvinAiley #WorldAIDSDay #DayWithoutArt -- source link
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