Alvin Ailey’s Influence on Modern Dance
Alvin Ailey never considered dancing as his career. He had always been enthralled by the lights, costumes, and dancers flowing with the music, but it never occurred to him that he would be creating such spectacles. He went to see many shows when he was younger, mostly ballet and musical theater. Acceptance for modern dance had not yet been established during the 1940’s, when Ailey was in his childhood, and he would become one of its most major influences. Alvin Ailey helped modern dance become accepted by bringing his roots into his dances, opening his own studio, and giving African Americans equal opportunities.
Ailey grew up drifting all over Texas with his mother (Ford 73-74). He could never forget the joyful music he had always heard in church as a young boy (Probosz 13). The songs Ailey heard in church were always sung in rejoice, despite the hard times and lack of respect for African Americans. Revelations, Ailey’s first major work,......
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