Born on 5 January 1931 in Rogers, Texas, Alvin Ailey became an innovative dancer, director and choreographer who helped to establish modern dance as a popular art form in the United States. He founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1958 and directed such choreographic masterpieces as Blues Suite (1958), Revelations (1960), Quintet (1968), Masekela Language (1969), Cry (1971) and The Lark Ascending (1972). One of the greatest male dancers of his generation, Ailey began his career as a member of the Lester Horton company and made his Broadway debut in House of Flowers (1954). After dancing in the movie, Carmen Jones, Ailey decided to concentrate on choreography and began to synthesize elements of classical ballet, jazz dance and African-Caribbean dance with the more traditional styles and forms. His company soon became a showcase for such black choreographers as Talley Beatty, George Faison and Donald McKayle. His troupe, which began as exclusively black, gradually became multiracial during the 1960s. It served as a cultural ambassador and made numerous tours to Africa, Australia, Europe and the Far East. Ailey’s influence on modern dance was simply enormous and this was recognized by such institutions as Cedar Crest College and Princeton University from which he received honorary doctorates of fine arts. He died on 1 December 1989. Many of his seventy-nine works are still being performed by such companies as the American Ballet Theatre, the Paris Opera Ballet, the English National Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet.
AILEY, Alvin
