Press Coverage

July 23, 2021

New York Post - Giant Leaps: New Alvin Ailey Doc Celebrates Dance Legend’s Greatness

At the beginning of “Ailey” – the documentary about iconic choreographer Alvin Ailey, which opens in New York today – greatness recognizes greatness when Cicely Tyson calls him the “Pied Piper of modern dance” at his 1988 Kennedy Center Honors induction. And for this master of movement – who founded the internationally renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company in New York in 1958 – it was all about brining black people to the traditionally white world of dance.

July 23, 2021

The New York Times - The Man Behind The Dances

Too often, the idea of Alvin Ailey is reduced to a single dance: “Revelations.” His 1960 exploration of the Black experience remains a masterpiece, but it also overshadows the person who made it. How can an artist grow after such early success? Who was Alvin Ailey the man? In “Ailey,” the director Jamila Wignot layers images, video and – most important – voiceovers from Alvin Ailey to create a portrait that feels as poetic and nuanced as choreography itself.

July 02, 2021

The Washington Post - Film Looks At What Made Mr. Ailey Mr. Ailey

The documentary “Ailey,” opening nationwide in theaters Aug. 6, is a long-overdue portrait of the modern dance pioneer. Alvin Ailey died in 1989 at age 58, but, significantly, much of the Insignia Films documentary was filmed in 2018 at a New York dance studio near a street named Alvin Ailey Place. As we watch a new generation of Ailey dancers taking direction from hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris, it’s as though Alvin Ailey never really left; he and his company have always evolved to meet the times.

July 02, 2021

The Face - Tremaine Emory On His Alvin Ailey Inspired Champion Collab

Tremaine Emory is no stranger to designer collaborations. As a consultant, the omni-talented artist has advised the likes of Kanye West and Frank Ocean and collaborated with brands such as Nike, Adidas, Levi’s and Stüssy. Now, the No Vacancy Inn co-founder and FACE family member has added yet another string to his bow: a super-slick collaboration with Champion. Due to launch in September, the Champion Tears collection takes influence from both the sportswear brand’s archives and one of the giants of 20th century dance: Alvin Ailey. Founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York – and one of the most important figures in honouring Black culture through dance – the whole thing is brought to life in a film by director, dancer and star of A24’s upcoming Zola, Taylour Paige.

June 23, 2021

Highsnobiety - Tremaine Emory Cries “Champion Tears” For Alvin Ailey

Tremaine Emory aims to incite reform from the inside out, utilizing platforms offered by giant conglomerates to recontextuali ze inequity and consider lingering effects of discrimination on Black America. Emory's latest move is in alignment with sportswear giant Champion, lionizing Alvin Ailey and his legendary Dance Theater in line with the forthcoming documentary film that explores Ailey's life and legacy.

June 17, 2021

Vulture: Alvin Ailey, Rita Moreno, And The Privacy Of Art

This year’s Tribeca Film Festival includes two documentaries about truly legendary performers. In many ways, the films echo each other: They’re both about children of the Depression, artists whose struggles against racial oppression made them “firsts” in their fields, artists who have won both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and are Kennedy Center Honorees. The films themselves shine like medals around the artists’ necks: Love — or worship — sits at the core of each project. (These are deferential, at times often promotional documents.) But Jamila Wignot’s Ailey and Mariem Pérez Riera’s Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It are alike in another way too. They both demonstrate the limitations of trying to explicate genius. Talking heads can honor Alvin Ailey’s choreography; they can pay tribute to Rita Moreno’s spirit of tungsten steel. But neither documentary can really draw us inside its object — Ailey because the man himself is gone (and hard to know when he lived); Rita because her stories have already been polished to a high diamond shine.

June 11, 2021

Yomitime - The Ailey Spring Gala: Kanji Segawa’s Future

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of America's leading dance companies, will hold a virtual gala at 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 24th, delivered worldwide via the Internet. With the three themes of "Hope," "Promise," and "Future," this gala will feature premiere performances by members of the company, Ailey School students, and special guests.

May 27, 2021

IndieWire - 'Ailey' Trailer: Neon's Hypnotic Documentary Portrait Of Dance Visionary Alvin Ailey

From “The Painter and the Thief” to “Apollo 11” and “Gunda,” Neon is proving to be a rich home to documentary film. The latest entry from the distributor is Jamila Wignot’s “Ailey,” a documentary about multi-hyphenate dancer, choreographer, director, and activist Alvin Ailey, who up until his death in 1989 inspired generations of dancers and founded the towering Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. “Ailey,” which first premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews, releases on July 23 in theaters.

February 25, 2021

FOX 5 New York - Good Day Celebrates Black History Month

The impact of COVID-19 has crippled the arts community, but art gives us the power to rejoice and has the power to unify. Robert Battle, the Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater reminds us of the history of excellence in Black theater, and the healing power of the arts.

February 21, 2021

CBS New York - Black History Month: Robert Battle And The History Of Dance

CBS2's Dave Carlin sits down with the legendary Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Robert Battle.

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