Alvin Ailey
When modern dance is mentioned, Alvin Ailey is one of the many names that immediately comes to mind. His life and his accomplishments have left a large impression on this world and to modern dance. By combining the essentials of many forms of dance, he created a company and a movement that was all his own and one that continues to shape and transform modern dance to this day.
Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931 in Rogers, Texas. His childhood was very hard and very atypical for the day and age that he grew up in. His mother was only seventeen when he was born and his father abandoned his family when he was six months old. At the age of two, he and his mother moved to Navasota, Texas and then to Los Angeles when he was eleven. Making ends meet was often difficult and Alvin would pick cotton and do work around different households to help his mother out. He was forced to grow up fast, but there was always an interest in art. Alvin drew pictures throughout his entire childhood and seemed to have a natural talent, but he was not interested in dance until his early teen years. (Cook,)
Alvin was introduced to dance on a junior high field trip. One of his English teachers took their students every year and Alvin was literally “dragged bodily to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo” (Cook,). But once he was there, he was hooked. Once Alvin was introduced to what is known as the theatre district in L.A. he continued to go every week. On one occasion, he saw a picture of a black company dancer on a poster and was mesmerized. He was amazed at what black people were doing on stage. Katherine Dunham was the woman on display,
