Ailey was a choreographer, dancer, and the founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which is renowned for its inspiring performances in 71 countries on 6 continents since 1958. Ailey’s work was groundbreaking in its exploration of the African American experience and the enrichment of the modern dance tradition, including his beloved American masterpiece Revelations.
I was recently wowed by a YouTube of Buddy Ebsen as an eccentric dancer. And another one with Earl “Snake Hips” Tucker. And another by Ray Bolger.
Alvin Ailey was not just a dancer; many would call him a revolutionary. The creation of his company 56 years ago marked the start of a new era in dance, dedicated to the African-American experience.
Joan H. Weill is going out with a bang. After her 14 years as chairwoman of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation and 20 years on its board, the company on Thursday evening planned to announce that more than $40 million had been raised in honor of her retirement.
Alvin Ailey, the revelatory dancer and choreographer who began life in Rogers, Texas, and died in Manhattan in 1989 at the age of 58, has been posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.
Learn the opening section of Alvin Ailey's iconic work.
On paper, there are a number of reasons why Alicia Graf Mack shouldn't be a successful dancer. She's 6-foot-2 on her tiptoes, making it harder to find male partners tall enough for her. She's biracial, growing up in a time when African-American ballerinas are few. And she's suffered multiple injuries of the career ending variety.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Company, long one of the nation's more cherished troupes, is testing the waters of its Chicago popularity with an extended, two-week stay at the Auditorium Theatre, offering three separate linups through March 17.
There's a cool, seductive way an Alvin Ailey dancer takes the stage - a pantherlike walk with the chest held high, hips and shoulders rolling ever so slightly. It's one of the things choreographer Kyle Abraham loves about Ailey's style.
A conversation with Judith Jamison, director emerita of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and winner of the 2013 APAP Award of Merit, is not like taking a walk through American dance history. It is the walk through American dance History.