Talk:Alvin Ailey

Alvin Ailey's

What relevancy does the fact that he was gay have for this article? I think it should be omitted. G.M.

Nothing defining, passing interest perhaps. Edited. I should also point out that the David McReynolds article doesn't mention Ailey; I don't know one way or t'other so I'm leaving it. Quill 06:29, 22 September 2005 (UTC)

Alvin ailey was not in a relationship with David you are very sadly mistaken and if you dont take that false fact off I will sue you until you cant see you own feet!!!!!---A.P.C

I don't think the topic of Ailey's sexuality should be avoided. Sexuality is a natural and important part of anyone's life--if the article claims to cover Ailey's life in brief, mention of his sexuality (even if he were straight) would be relevant. What the article should do is to show how his sexuality played a role in his life. Merely mentioning that he was gay does not really give the reader insight into Ailey's life and work--tell what his homosexuality meant to him and others.

There are many details in every article that seemingly have little relevance to articles and seemingly give the reader no insight into the subjects. For example, how does the fact that he was born January 5 contribute to the article or understanding his life and work while the people he lusted and loved don't? Hyacinth 09:36, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

Ailey's semi-closeted sexuality and his subsequent death of AIDS are important to understanding Ailey and important to note from a historical perspective. I'll be adding details regarding this and how it relates to his work. Sugarcoma (talk) 18:39, 6 February 2009 (UTC)

I commented out the following Ailey was known to be generous, magnanimous and loving and was adored by a multitude of devoted friends. He also served as a father figure to his dancers. His personal and professional lives however, were frequently dogged with problems. His romantic life was rocky and often abusive and later life he often employed male sex-workers. He also made poor personal choices in who to entrust with management and money matters. Towards the end of his life, Ailey was increasingly crippled by arthritis, and dependent on lithium as a mood regulator. Because I did not have a proper source for it. I want to include this information but I want to do it in a way that does not denigrate his legacy. I also want to be absolutely certain of it's accuracy. Sugarcoma (talk) 06:08, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

• " Ailey's longtime lover was politician and two time presidential candidate (Socialist Party USA) David McReynolds" as stated in the 2009 book Queers in History. Callelinea (talk) 01:34, 18 October 2009 (UTC)

Based on this comment I will make that book a reference for the mention of McReynolds in the article, rather than just an unattached citation. --Mirokado (talk) 20:29, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

Poorly written article

I've noticed several instances of awkward and poorly crafted writing in this article. (I already corrected several out-and-out typos). I suggest that the whole article be revised to improve its prose style to make it more professional and trustworthy.

I agree. To be frank, for someone as important as Mr. Ailey was to the evolution of American Dance, I think that this article should be much more complex and involved. I, unfortunately, have neither the knowledge nor the expertise to improve it substantially. In a perfect world, this article would one day be featured, because Alvin deserves it.Dlayiga 04:04, 10 April 2006 (UTC)

poorly written article

i also agree because what about the techniques Alvin Ailey uses like does he use story lines or pure dance? thank you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.178.123.82 (talk) 23:17, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

This is a good suggestion. I dislike it when an artist's style or technique isn't touched on in an article. I'll try to address it in this article. Ailey was technique agnostic. There is no true 'Ailey technique' like there is for Graham or Horton. He was a choreographer who made dynamic use of his prior influences and techniques. Dunham, Graham, Horton, jazz, african dance, modern and ballet can all be seen in his work. He incorporates all of them but is loyal to none of them. That is part of what makes Ailey's work so inviting in my opinion. So many familiar elements incorporated to form a unique experience. Ailey's dancers have to be able to do it all from street hip hop to classical ballet. Sugarcoma (talk) 19:28, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

This article is pretty lame. Gonna try to help out with this. I'm taking a dance history class and have been studying Ailey. Just to note I found [1] and it's way better. It's under the GNU license so we could pull it over here but I'm not sure what the policy. Do we copy the info or do we simply link? User:sugarcoma 11:12pm, 03 Febuary 2008 (PST)

It is possible. Especially since the article on newworldencyclopedia is derived from the Wikipedia article. But the other article does not has a neutral point of view though. Sentences like "His works continue to inspire, uplift, educate, and communicate brilliance to all who witness them" should never be on Wikipedia. Garion96 (talk) 09:06, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

Agreed. I was impressed mostly by the amount content. Not all of it is high quality. The improvements I made need to be gone over. I did the initial neutrality check when I wrote it but I'm it could be a bit more neutral. I'll be revising it as I go along. It will be for a paper I'm writing for class. Sugarcoma (talk) 09:22, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

The deeper I get into this the more intense the work becomes. This whole page is getting an overhaul. Consider it a work in progress for now. Sugarcoma (talk) 09:02, 5 February 2009 (UTC)

agreed. More information is needed

Unsupported content.

I have removed two sentences from the Personal life section. "Ailey was openly gay" simply does not appear in Scott (2010) and is contradicted in Turnbaugh (2002). The next sentence comments on the first, but could be restored later if further content with reliable sources is added. --Mirokado (talk) 20:36, 25 January 2012 (UTC)

fact check?

Ailey's choreographic masterpiece Revelations is believed to be the best-known and most often seen modern dance performance. Ailey received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989, just one year before his death

just noticed this was recently changed to 1989 instead of 1988. sneaky vandalism, or a mistake in the article? --75.73.176.26 (talk) 03:25, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Insufficiently sourced content: studying Baldwin and romancing McReynolds

The already-noted lack of a source for saying Ailey studied Romance languages in several California universities is compounded by the lack of source for saying he studied the works of James Baldwin, Langston Hughes, and Carson McCullers. All I've done is insert a "citation needed" remark regarding the latter, but it seems all the more unlikely considering that James Baldwin had yet to publish even his first novel at the time under discussion.

I deplore the squeamishness of others about mentioning Ailey's well-known gayness, a trait that played a significant part in his personal life, body of work, and even death--but the part about his having been romantically involved with David McReynolds appears to be just as fanciful as the part about studying James Baldwin. I've left the McReynolds part largely alone for the time being, since it's elastically worded, it cites to two obscure books, and I don't know of an "encyclopedic" source that refutes it--but David McReynolds himself denies it in a public March 2013 e-mail message. In that message, while acknowledging a one-time teenage tryst with Ailey, a crush on him afterward, and a friendship that lasted for years (as well as relating other details about Ailey's lifelong gayness), McReynolds explains the social and political influence that Ailey had on him and the ways in which their paths crossed over the decades but persuasively denies that they were actually lovers as apparently alleged in the books cited. Wbkelley (talk) 20:11, 24 March 2013 (UTC)

Alvin Ailey should be listed as both an African-American choreographer and an American choreographer.

Alvin Ailey is one of the greatest AMERICAN choreographers to have ever lived. Why isn't he listed with all of the other notable American choreographers? 2bwritten (talk) 01:35, 11 August 2013 (UTC)

Activism

Both the info box and the article summary mention Alvin as an activist. Yet there is no text in the body of the article that talks about it. What kind of activism? Was is to do with LGBT rights, African-American rights, the acceptance and appreciation of Dance? If anyone has information on his activism, it would be great to have a section on it, as it would shed new light on his life. Peel (talk) 17:08, 1 May 2017 (UTC)