January 18, 2022 – After watching this film I can certainly see why director Jamila Wignot and Insignia Films felt that ground breaking dance choreographer Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) had been overlooked too long. “American Masters” didn't do a documentary film on him, and neither had anyone else. This film corrects that oversight.

Ailey grew up poor in Texas, during the Great Depression, raised by a his single-parent mother. Life improved after he and his mother moved to Los Angeles in 1941, where employment and educational opportunities were much better. Drawn to opera and dance performances, he watched as many as he could while in school.

The top performers he saw where all white, which made him feel like an outsider. It was a revelation when he saw a performance by the Katherine Dunham Dance Company. He saw black performers on stage and realized there might be a place for him in the world of theatrical dance productions.

Ailey attended a number of dance workshops, but didn't become serious about dancing until he attended Lester Horton's dance classes in Los Angeles in 1949 at the urging of his friend, Carmen de Lavallade, who also appears in this film. Horton's multiracial studio was one of the few of its kind in the United States. Ailey joined Horton's dance company in 1953, and briefly ran it after Horton's death that same year. He continued to use the Horton Technique for training dancers for the rest of his life.

Ailey and Carmen became a famous dance duo in Los Angeles, and were recruited to New York stage shows, where Ailey performed for several years until he formed his own dance company in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Ailey quickly produced two masterpieces, “Blues Suite” in 1958, and “Revelations” in 1960, the latter is still his best-known work.

Like a prodigy who has to live up to impossibly high expectations later in life, Ailey struggled to maintain his reputation as well as his dance company, which almost went bankrupt in 1970 due to a lack of bookings in the U.S. A triumphant tour in Russia, however, helped to revive the company's fortunes. The company's final performance in Moscow was met with incredible enthusiasm. The audience refused to leave, clamoring for 30 curtain calls.

The film is peppered with current and historic film footage of Ailey's performances, along with practices for a new production by the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in 2018. The dance footage is amazing. I had never seen any of this before, footage from performances of “Revelations,” or Ailey's earlier performances, any of it. This kind of dancing is so fluid, so powerful, so expressive, that it is truly in a class by itself.

What is missing from the film is much of Ailey's personal life in his later years. Evidently, Ailey was able to keep his personal life private. At that time in history, it was still possible for a famous person to have some privacy. Another reason for his need for privacy was Ailey's homosexuality, which was a forbidden subject for much of his life. Even when Ailey was dying of AIDS, that part of his life was not something he discussed publicly.

In addition to interviews with people who knew Ailey, the film also includes audio recordings made earlier by Ailey, for a book, “Revelations: The Autobiography of Alvin Ailey,” published in 1995 by A. Peter Bailey. The audio recordings are used to underscore historical footage to illustrate Ailey's upbringing, some of his personal life, and his later achievements.

The story of Ailey's life in this documentary is told in a roughly chronological sequence, with frequent breaks from the past to the current production, honoring Ailey, being crafted at the Alvin Ailey Dance Company studios. The most impressive thing about the film, however, are the dances, and dancers themselves, including Ailey himself, dancing as a young man.

The film makes a compelling argument that Ailey's giant influence in the world of dance should be recognized, and that it was overlooked for far too long. This film rates a B.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in digital formats, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff (no extra charges apply). I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2022 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at