“American Masters: Ailey” premieres Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings).
Famed choreographer Alvin Ailey, whose dances center on the Black experience with grace, strength and beauty.
The special features previously unheard audio interviews with Ailey, interviews with those close to him and an intimate glimpse into the Ailey studios today.
American Masters: Ailey is a portrait of the legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), a trailblazing pioneer who founded his influential studio Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958 at age 27. The documentary traces the full contours of this brilliant and enigmatic man whose search for the truth in movement resulted in enduring choreography that centers on the Black American experience with inimitable grace and power. Told through the choreographer’s own words and featuring evocative archival footage and interviews with those close to him, director Jamila Wignot weaves together a resonant biography that connects Ailey’s past to our present with an intimate glimpse into the Ailey studios today, following innovative hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris as he conceives a new dance, “Lazarus,” inspired by Ailey’s life. Opening the series’ 36th season, American Masters: Ailey premieres nationwide Tuesday, January 11, 2022, at 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/ailey and the PBS Video app.
