Dancer, Choreographer. Born in Rogers, Texas, he was the founder of the renown dance company the “Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater”.  Starting in 1949, he studied with influential choreographer Lester Horton in Los Angeles, California. When Horton died in 1953, Alvin Ailey took over the Lester Horton Dance Theater and became the director and resident choreographer.  He later went to New York City, New York to make his theatre debut in Truman Capote’s musical “House of Flower”.  He remained in New York, and studied ballet, acting and modern dance with choreographer Martha Graham. When he choreographed “Blues Suite”, it marked the beginning of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. During his lifetime the company would perform in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents, and would received the Dance Magazine Award (1975); the Capezio Award (1979), the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award (1987) and the Kennedy Center Honors (1988). (bio by: Babe) Cause of death: AIDS