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How Did Alvin Ailey Contribute To Dance

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Alvin Ailey was one of the greatest choreographers of his time and his legacy still lives on through his techniques and his preeminent dance company. Despite racial issues of his time, he was able to overcome them, learn from one of the greatest modern choreographers who came before him, land a job on Broadway, and later create his own long living dances through his own dance company which began with all black dancers. His legacy lives in his ability to rise above racial issues and create a new community of African American dancers in modern dance. Born in Texas during the Great Depression, Ailey grew up in hardship while also facing racial issues in the South. Around age 11 was where Ailey’s life began to gain purpose. He moved to Los …show more content…

He knew there was a need for change in the lives of aspiring African-American dancers. There was no place or company where African-American dancers could come together and perform what they stood for and show their background to the world through the medium of dance. “Revelations” did so in an incredibly successful way. It allowed these black dancers to finally express themselves and stand in a community of others like them who shared the same life experiences because they were black growing up in a slowly integrating …show more content…

He wanted his culture to be prominent in his work and he did so by showing the world what he, as a black man, stood for through his choreography. He choreographed a piece titled “Survivors” in 1987. This powerful dance was in honor of the rights activists Nelson and Winnie Mandela in South Africa. This dance captures the hurt and anger of the activists in South Africa using symbolism, unique lighting, and emotional live music, according to Anna Kisselgoff’s article in the New York Times from 1987 after the piece was debuted. Ailey uses current events to attract his audience and exemplify the culture of Africans, and in this case the hardships of Africans, which is one of his main goals as a

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Choreographer Alvin Ailey expresses the story of the labored, broken, yet courageous black woman, though lengthy arm extensions and torso contractions that are combined with his signature style of ballet, modern dance, and African technique. Alvin Ailey trained dancers have a way of dancing bigger than the audience could ever imagine by embodying the real life struggles Alvin himself witnessed This type of character outpouring births a spiritual intimacy or soul connection between dancer and choreography and finally audience and dancer. A dance genius in his own right, Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931 in a small town in Texas. His 17-year-old mother would soon know the struggles of being a single mother in the segregated south just months after Alvin was born.

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In 1971, Alvin Ailey choreographed Cry, a three part work solo dance set to gospel music that describes an emotional journey filled with struggle, hardships, defeat, survival and joy. It was intended as a birthday present to Alvin’s mother and a dedication to all black women everywhere. The first part of the dance is the struggle of trying to maintain pride irrespective of the opposition faced from outside. The second part reveals the sorrow within after the woman’s pride has been shattered into pieces and finally the third part is a spirited celebration of finding strength and joy in God. Even though cry was dedicated to only black women, i argue the notion that all women both black and white of the nineteenth century could relate

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Alvin Ailey was a prevalent modern dance choreographer in the 20th century known for breaking down the racial barriers within dance. Born in Rodgers, Texas and growing up around the era of social rebellion and the fight for reconstruction of cultural stereotypes, Alvin Ailey’s company played an important role in the civil rights movement. Founding the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in December 1958, Ailey brought the vision of greater racial equality and used his modern dance as a platform for both his personal and cultural expression. Through the medium of dance, Alvin Ailey emerged African American aesthetic, fostered awareness for the need of multi-racial modern dance, and pioneered dance as a political and social movement. Ailey made a point of producing the works of black choreographers and musicians, focusing his productions on black American themes.

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