Revelations: The Autobiography of Alvin Ailey

NY: Birch Lane Press , 1995. 1st. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 183 pages, b&w photos. Discussing the private life of a pioneer choreographer, an in-depth portrait notes how his father's absence, racism in the dance world, and the Katherine Dunham Company affected his work in such ballets as "Revelations" and "Blues Suite." Revelations, one of Ailey's most famous ballets, is the title he selected for his autobiography, which was richly told to his chosen coauthor, Peter A. Bailey. Bailey did not complete the manuscript until after Alvin Ailey's death in 1989. To that core manuscript, he added interviews with dancers, colleagues, and friends who remembered Ailey and his contribution to the world of dance. Ailey reveals for the first time intimate details of his professional hurdles, personal life, and relationships with family and significant others that influenced his life. He discusses politics and racism and their effect on his dancing, on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and on his self-image. The chapters chronicle his life from his childhood days in Texas to his tours abroad to his Broadway productions in New York to his period of manic depression in 1980. Ailey's life was a series of triumphs and disappointments, yet he managed to overcome his insecurities to become a pioneer in the world of dance and a choreographer of international reputation. Mild wear to dust jacket edge, clean copy. Record # 383498