Alvin Ailey

On January 5, 1931, a dancing legend was born. This legend is known as Alvin Ailey. He grew up in Rogers, Texas. He was the only child of his 17- year- old mother, Lula. When Alvin was 6 months old, his father abandoned his family; because of this, they had to pick cotton and do domestic work to get by.

Alvin Ailey discovered dance while on a field trip to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. After that he started taking dance class from choreographer Katherine Dunham. But his most important influence came from choreographer Lester Horton.

On March 30, 1958, Alvin Ailey and a group of young black modern dancers perform for the first time as members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He then creates popular and classic masterpieces that are performed for important people, like the President. These include Revelations, The River, Cry, Precipice, and For Bird with Love.

These wonderful masterpieces earn Ailey many awards. These awards include Doctorate of Fine Arts degree, Dance Magazine Award, Springarn Medal, Capezio Award, United Nations Peace Medal, Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, modern dance’s greatest honor, The Kennedy Center Honor, and the Handel Medallion.

Alvin Ailey is an amazing person. He is my hero because I love to dance. He helped to show me that with determination and perserverance, anything can happen. He is an inspiration to anyone who likes to dance, or has a big dream. When you love something, you can achieve it.