Art has this phenomenal way of making people think beyond the barriers that their mind has set for them. Whether that art form is a painting, a theater show, or a dance performance people have a changed viewpoint of the world after watching art in motion. Alvin Ailey didn’t just create art, but he embodied art. He not only influenced millions of people, but he impacted the African-American community through his art and his voice. By creating Alvin Ailey© American Dance Theater he opened up doors for an entire community of people. According to Ailey and Bailey, (1999), the goal of the company was to take African-American roots and embed them into modern dance. Alvin Ailey wanted to celebrate dancers that weren’t just technical dancers but had something different about them. He uplifted the black community by creating a new image of what it meant to be a dancer. He showed young black children that a ballet dancer could have an afro and wide hips. He didn’t speak in front of large crowds or become a politician to be an effective leader, but he made a change within communities around the world. He changed people’s perception of what it meant to be a black woman or man in art and in society. …show more content…
He was an egalitarian and believed that if you fight for the equality of one race then you have to believe in the equality of all races (Youth for Human Rights, 2014). Although Alvin Ailey is known for his work as a choreographer, he was an activist for all races. He believed that all different types of people could embrace dance and not be confined to a stereotype created by society. He lead by impacting the world with his views of egalitarianism, and that is what made his outlook on art so intriguing and