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Birth
Alvin Ailey born on January 5th, 1931 in Rogers Texas -
The Move
In 1942 Ailey and his mother moved to Los Angels. Ailey originally went to a junior high school which was located in a white neighbor hood. He was picked on a lot and felt like an outcast so he decided to transfer from that school. -
Discovering my love for dance
When Ailey made the transfer into his new school he decided to join multiple clubs such as glee club, and poetry club. Ailey often attend theater shows at the Lincoln theater. In 1949 Ailey started to realize his love for dance -
The Big Apple
In 1954 Ailey and his friend Carmen De Lavallade, moved to New York City to begin their dance careers. The house of flowers was there first broadway show they each preformed in. This was only the beginning of Ailey's young career. -
My own group
In 1958 Ailey decided to create his own group of dancers. Ailey choreography was very unique in which it consisted of different types of dance. Ailey used different segments from African dance, jazz, ballet, and modern dance. In Ailey's choreography he wanted to express the different emotions African Americans had to overcome. -
Accomplished
In 1960's Ailey decided to take his company on the road to perform in different states. After the tour was over Ailey received the recognition he was looking for. While he was getting all of this recognition he decided to stop performing and focus more on his choreography. That same year he founded the Ailey School. -
Cry
During the early 70's Ailey was seen as a icon in the dance world. During this time he choreographed one of his best work which was a piece called " cry". This piece focused on the struggles of African american women. -
Final years
During Aileys career he choreographed about 80 ballets. During Aileys last years he was recognized for his amazing work that he was honored by the Kennedy Center, which is a very prestigious accomplishment. In 1989 Ailey was pronounced dead at Lenox Hill hospital in New York City. Later we found out that Ailey cause of death was due to AIDS. Even though Ailey career was cut short he is still very influential in todays dance world. The Alvin Ailey Dance Theater has helped dancers all of the world
