Ailey Choreographic Legacy Project

FAIN: ZPA-283812-22

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc. (New York, NY 10019-4402)
Masazumi Chaya (Project Director: May 2021 to October 2023)

The retention of four key program and archives staff and the addition of a videographer to document the legacy of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, devoted to themes of African and African-American culture, by conducting interviews and cataloging and digitizing its production notes and performance histories. 

Funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities would support the next stage of the Alvin Ailey Choreographic Legacy Project–an initiative to catalog and digitize select works in the Ailey repertory for the purpose of restaging, historic preservation, and the eventual launch of a licensing program for professional dance companies and universities–including salaries for Ailey’s Project Director, Archivist, Archives Consultant, Project Coordinator, and Videographer/Film Editor to continue prioritizing this effort. During this project period, these individuals will focus on the second ballet as part of this initiative, SURVIVORS, compiling and digitizing comprehensive production notes and dramaturgical materials, and creating a mini documentary consisting of dancer and production staff interviews to precede the full-length work.