By Shahnaz Mahmud
The power of dance lies in its ability to touch our emotions solely through the body's expression. Wordless verse, poetry in motion, call it what you will, the art form viscerally moves us. Our senses heightening in the same way when the lights dim in a darkened cinema and the movie before us unfolds.
In Jamila Wignot's documentary Ailey, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021, the director not only aspires to give insight into the life of the celebrated - yet deeply private - choreographer Alvin Ailey, she desires to recreate the experience of watching Ailey's choreography live on stage.
In my body of work, I have tried to explore more ways that storytelling can be told visually, says Wignot over the phone. So with dance, and particularly with Mr. Ailey's works, which are very narrative, it felt like there was going to be a way to let go of speaking to what the dance is doing, and create moments in which the dance could do its own work to speak for itself.
Ailey's pre-eminence in 20th century choreography leaves a lasting legacy today - his name is still synonymous with innovation in modern dance. Ailey was an African American born into poverty in rural Texas in 1931 and, as the film shows us, recognized that the art form was his destiny when he was exposed to it as a young teen. He created the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater in 1958, in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, and offered emotionally rich dance pieces that spoke to the African American experience.
Wignot was introduced to the project through Stephen Ives and Amanda Pollak, both principals of Insignia Films. She was attracted by Ailey's stature in modern dance and the fact that nothing substantive of him as an artist existed in documentary form. But, she also happened to be an ardent fan of the Ailey dance company. Wignot discovered it as a college student - in fact, this was the first company that led her to consider the creative importance of dance.
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By Shahnaz Mahmud
