3 Reasons We're Ecstatic That Alvin Ailey's Life and Work Are Being Made into a Movie

March 22, 2018

There must be something in the water: Last week, we announced that Madonna is directing Michaela DePrince’s upcoming biopic. And yesterday, we got wind of another major dance film: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox Searchlight has sealed the deal to make Ailey Ailey’s life and work into a movie. Yes, please.

While some movies falter along their way to the big screen, we think this one’s got legs (and hopefully a whole lot of lateral T’s and hinges and coccyx balances, too). Why?


Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Sean Aaron Carmon in Ailey’s Revelations. Photo by EricGrayPhotography.com, Courtesy AAADT.

1. High-profile songstress and all-around goddess Alicia Keys is one of the film’s producers.

2. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is on board. The Hollywood Reporter specifically mentioned that artistic director Robert Battle and artistic director emerita Judith Jamison will be part of the process.


Robert Battle and Judith Jamison will work closely with the movie’s producers. Photo by Christopher Duggan.

3. The history should be on point. Fox Searchlight has secured the rights to Jennifer Dunning’s biography Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance.

And it goes without saying that the dance scenes will amazingly fierce and likely full of current Ailey dancers. Still, it’s too early to know exactly what the film will look like: Will it be a dramatized version of the late choreographer’s life? A documentary laced with archival footage and commentary from Ailey experts?

In a statement
, Battle expressed his excitement for the project, saying, “We are thrilled to be working with these incredible partners to bring to the screen the amazing journey and revolutionary choreography of Alvin Ailey, whose life and legacy profoundly impacted people of all backgrounds around the world.”


Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Linda Celeste Sims in Ailey’s rousing Cry (1971). Photo by Christopher Duggan.

We’re thrilled too. What choreography do you hope to see most in the movie? (We’re dying for a fiery Cry and some soulful snippets of Revelations.) Tell us in the comments.