This sensitive and rich portrait of the brilliant American choreographer Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) explores his work and fate through rare archival materials and unpublished audio recordings and interviews from the last year of his life.
Ailey was a dancer, choreographer, activist, gay, African-American, but above all he was a visionary who brought the black vibrancy and energy, as well as the captivating blues and spirituality of gospel to the world of “white” dance. His choreographies are not just celebrations of the beauty and history of African Americans, but revolutionary social statements. Ailey stood out in a society that tried its best to exclude him – he endured racism and homophobia, addiction and mental illness, and became an iconic African American artist whose legacy lives on.
