Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance

by Jennifer Dunning

Alvin Ailey (1931–1989) was a choreographic giant in the modern dance world and a champion of African-American talent and culture. His interracial Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater provided opportunities to black dancers and choreographers when no one else would. His acclaimed “Revelations” remains one of the most performed modern dance pieces in the twentieth century. But he led a tortured life, filled with insecurity and self-loathing. Raised in poverty in rural Texas by his single mother, he managed to find success early in his career, but by the 1970s his creativity had waned. He turned to drugs, alcohol, and gay bars and suffered a nervous breakdown in 1980. He was secretive about his private life, including his homosexuality, and, unbeknownst to most at the time, died from AIDS-related complications at age 58.Now, for the first time, the complete story of Ailey’s life and work is revealed in this biography. Based on his personal journals and hundreds of interviews with those who knew him, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Judith Jamison, Lena Horne, Katherine Dunham, Sidney Poitier, and Dustin Hoffman, Alvin Ailey is a moving story of a man who wove his life and culture into his dance.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Music

496 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

Reviews

[Marybeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-researched and well-written Dunning seems somewhat more invested in and empathetic of her subject once she's writing about Ailey's life during the time she would have known him in her career as a dance essayist and critic. This is definitely the biography to read to augment the PBS American Masters documentary, which touches very lightly on Ailey's full life.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply amazing. Very touching too! Yes, I cried.

[Sarah Wasserman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did not finish— the book spent too long on minutiae and not enough time on the themes and influences that led to the creation of some of Ailey’s best pieces. I feel like I learned more about his finances than his choreography.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love Alvin Ailey, you will find this book interesting and moving.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars