P.S. Alvin Ailey's Diaries & The Sacrifice of Dance

"You have to be obsessed with dance to do dance; it’s not something you play with."

When asked if he had to sacrifice anything for dance, Alvin Ailey’s answer was simple: “everything.”¹ He explained,

You have to be obsessed with dance to do dance; it’s not something you play with.

And Ailey was certainly obsessed with dance. He thought about it all day, every day. He dedicated his life to it.

Watching his ballets, you can tell that Ailey had reserves of emotion to draw from. He was a man who felt things very deeply, and, at some point, that got him in trouble. He struggled with drugs; he had a breakdown and was hospitalized; he was diagnosed with manic-depressive disorder (called Bipolar disorder today). Through it all, he documented his experiences, reflections, and emotions in his diaries.

So join me as we step into Ailey’s inner world through diaries he left behind.

These post-scripts offer paid subscribers a deeper dive into the note-takers I cover in our regular posts. You can read my full post on Alvin Ailey’s notes here. If you look forward to reading Noted, please consider becoming a paid subscriber—you’ll help keep this newsletter going!