He was born January 5, 1931, in the Central Texas town of Rogers, in Bell County. He died in New York December 1, 1989, of blood dyscrasia. Alvin was the only child of his 17-
…year-old mother, Lula. His father abandoned them when Alvin was six months old. Mother and son moved to Navasota, eventually settling in Los Angeles. To get buy, they picked cotton and did domestic work. Ailey showed an early interest in art, drawing pictures during much of his childhood. He discovered dance while on a junior high school field trip to see the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. Eventually, he took dance classes from choreographer Katherine Dunham. But his most important influence would come from choreographer Lester Horton, who taught dance in Los Angeles. Horton's troupe was racially mixed and included American Indian and Japanese influences. Ailey began studying with Horton in 1949, leaving behind his romance language studies at UCLA. In 1953, the year Ailey made his performance debut, Horton died and Ailey took over the company. (MORE) 
