VOICEOVER
Ailey Directed by Jamila Wignot, Ailey documents the life of the gifted dancer and choreographer, Alvin Ailey. Through archival footage, interviews with friends and colleagues, and the narrating voice of Ailey himself, we journey through decades of his life and work.
The film begins in the present day, showing the rehearsal process, led by choreographer Rennie Harris, for a 2018 homage to the late founder. This reminds us that the work of Ailey lives on in the legacy he created through his unique style of dance. Each step and movement that the dancers make carries what Harris terms the “physical history” of dance. Wignot describes Ailey’s dances as “celebrations of African American beauty and history [which] did more than move bodies; they opened minds.” 32
One particularly prominent work was ‘Revelations’, created in 1960 when Ailey was 29. ‘Revelations’ presents the historical experience of African Americans, from slavery, baptism, to church celebrations, utilising the spiritual ‘Wade in the Water’. This was the signature work for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, which was founded in 1958, four years after its namesake moved to New York City.
Ailey’s origins before the formation of his dance theatre lie at the core of his work. Born in rural Texas, in 1931, during the Great Depression, he states that he remembers his mother washing the floor of the homes of wealthy white families, and drifting with her “looking for someplace to be”. At twelve, he and his mother moved to Los Angeles, where Ailey was able to
