New Documentary Showcases Life And Work Of Dance Great Alvin Ailey

Dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey was a landmark figure with works like his signature masterpiece, Revelations.

The 1960’s dance used spiritual, gospel and blues music behind his choreography to tell the story of the Black American experience performed by his diverse Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which toured both the U.S. and the world, bringing Black culture where it hadn't been seen before.

He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988, and posthumously, a Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2014. Ailey died of AIDS complications in 1989.

The new documentary “Ailey,” out in theaters, tells the fuller story of the renowned dancer’s work and life: He never knew his father. His early memories were of cotton fields with his mother.