TV One reports that Harlem’s Alicia Keys, her producing partners and Fox Searchlight will tell the story of barrier-breaking choreographer Alvin Ailey, who started as a dancer and became the founder of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. They will partner with the theater’s Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, friend and former Ailey dancer, and current Artistic Director Robert Battle.
“We are incredibly excited about this special project with terrific partners highlighting one of the great African-American icons and artists,” Battle said to The Hollywood Reporter. “As we prepare to celebrate the Ailey company’s 60th anniversary this fall, his powerful legacy continues to touch the hearts, minds and spirits of people around the world.”
Ailey, born in 1931 and died in 1989 due to complications with HIV/AIDS, lived a life colored with experiences and run-ins with people, like him, whose stories would one day live on in our history books. He performed in a nightclub alongside Maya Angelou (also known as Marguerite Johnson) in a duet they called “Al & Rita.”
He also performed in Hollywood films, like Carmen Jones (1954), and on Broadway. All this before founding his own company in 1958, cementing his dance style and sharing that southern-bred flavor on an international stage.
With the life he lived, we already know it’s going to be good.
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