About AILEY

 The documentary opens with him receiving a prestigious Kennedy Center Honor. Actress Cicely Tyson is on stage and tells the formally-attired audience, "He is a choreographer of the heart." One of his dance numbers is presented. Then we go to the New York City street named in his honor -- Alvin Ailey Place. This fascinating 95-minute documentary is called AILEY and it is about the late, great dancer/choreographer Alvin Ailey. In my previous post, I wrote about actor Anton Walbrook who played the imperious, driven ballet company head in THE RED SHOES. He warns a new ballerina, one in whom he sees greatness, that she cannot have it both ways. She cannot be a great artist and have an ordinary life with average domestic pleasures. I thought of Walbrook's character in THE RED SHOES as I watched AILEY. Alvin Ailey is asked if he had to sacrifice anything in order to maintain that extraordinary career in the arts.  His answer -- "Everything."

Then I thought of my father. No, he wasn't a dancer. But, like Alvin Ailey, he was born in Texas during the Great Depression and, in his youth, moved to Los Angeles. Ailey moved with his mother. He never saw his father. By the time he was in his late teens, Ailey was drawn to ballet and he'd been introduced, by a friend, to the thrill of same-sex affection. But when Ailey saw classical ballets performed onstage, he did not see a representation of himself. He didn't see any Black dancers. However, he'd become one.

Eventually, he will get to New York. He will see celebrated Black dancers such as Katherine Dunham (who was featured in the all-Black 1943 Fox musical, STORMY WEATHER) and actress/dancer Carmen de Lavallade. He would take dance and be a stand-out with his talent, good looks and charisma. But he had his own ideas about dance. He started his own company and created stunning dance pieces such as "Blues Suite," "Cry," "The River," "Fever Swamp," and the exquisite "Revelations." You'll see excerpts in the documentary. Offstage, Ailey was driven and solo. He didn't have a significant other who loved him and that seemed to fray his spirit. 

Plus, at times when he was being applauded worldwide, there was still racial exclusion and discrimination and death in his homeland. The murder of Black Panther Fred Hampton (his life and death were portrayed in the 2021 film, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH)  shook Ailey and a response came through in his art. At this time, he questioned whether upscale White people embraced him because they truly cared about his art or they basically wanted to position themselves as seeming liberal.

Some of those White folks who celebrated him did not embrace him when he was diagnosed with AIDS. You really need to see this fine documentary expertly directed by Jamila Wignot. We hear Ailey in his own words, we see him and his work. We see his dance company which was Black, White, Asian, Latino....racially diverse and inclusive unlike the ballet companies Ailey saw onstage in big cities in his youth. The comments from co-workers, former dancers and fellow choreographers -- such as Judith Jamison and Bill T. Jones -- are excellent. There is terrific archival footage. Above all, we see the genius of Alvin Ailey's choreography.

I'm positive that many White kids and young adults only knew Alvin Ailey's name because, in the 80s, it was much-publicized that Madonna had studied dance at Alvin Ailey studios. But those folks were unaware of history and significance. This is the true story of a major talent -- a Black, gay man who established his unique voice in the arts and took his place at the table. He gave us great work. He made great personal sacrifices. AILEY is worth watching. This is fine arts history, Black history and LGBTQ history. This documentary is on Amazon Prime.