Before his death in 1989 at the age of 58, choreographer and modern-dance giant Alvin Ailey accomplished many groundbreaking, boundary-busting things.
He helped establish modern dance as a popular art form capable of packing theaters and riveting audiences. His troupe, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, was a global sensation. And in his signature dances — 1960's "Revelations," 1969's "Masakela Language," 1971's "Cry" for the indelible Judith Jamison — he showcased Black history, Black experiences and Black bodies with passion, ferocity and a beauty that was blinding.
It was art, and it was revolution. And as director Jamila Wignot reveals in her remarkable documentary "Ailey," being the man who changed the dance world forever was a cosmic blessing and a heartbreaking curse.
