What is Hearts of Men?

Ailey Extension's Hearts of Men workshop, where for men and masculine-identifying people come together to dance and share life experiences, has a long history with AILEY.  

The idea for Hearts of Men began around 2010 at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center on 45th Street. Fredrick Earl Mosley, along with other men who were part of the Ailey community at that time—including Dudley Williams, Matthew Rushing, Clifton Brown, Jamal Story, and Daruis Crenshaw—came together to share their stories when they realized many of them came from places and experiences where they felt isolated as men who wanted to dance. 

“I grew up on a farm,” Mosley said. “Pigs, chickens, you name it. But I wanted to dance.” His father was a traditional model of paternal masculinity, a “meat, potatoes type of person,” Mosley said. “I loved him for it, because he provided a shelter over my head, but that life wasn't for me to pursue as a passion. I wasn't able to articulate that as a young person, but when I finally moved to New York, in meeting Mr. Williams, it helped me to actually formulate what those feelings were.” 

At the Ailey studios, these men found connections. Young dancers found role models they could aspire to in the older generation. Their shared love of dance was something to celebrate with each other.  

“You were starstruck,” Mosley remembers of being around those Ailey legends. “And then to find out, they're from Raleigh, North Carolina; they're from DC; they're from Kansas. They're from all of these towns that we're from. It helped me to understand, if they can do it, I can do it. Some of them didn't come out of the best circumstances, and they still made this life changing process happen for them.” 

Treasuring that shared recognition, the Ailey men, and especially Dudley Williams, wanted to ensure that this generational exchange and support continued. “Once the company moved from 45th Street to 61st Street, of course, things started to shift,” Mosley said. “But Mr. Williams was very concerned about making sure that we stay connected, because we are in a business where most of the dancers are not men or male-identifying.” It was then that Mosley along with Williams, Rushing, Brown, Story, and Crenshaw established what would become the Hearts of Men workshop.  

The original workshop was a gathering of men where they could share personal stories and experiences. They would ask questions, Mosley remembered, like, “How was it for you starting and Richmond, Virginia, where you were the only person in the studio dancing? How was it coming from, Louisville, Kentucky? How was it with your family saying you wanted to put on tights?” Often, the men’s stories would reveal their hardships growing up, feeling isolated because of their love of dance. “A lot of men get negative responses, and we wanted to create a safe space so we all can share those experiences,” Mosley said. “Because guess what? This person over here has that story as well. And maybe in those conversations—and not to mention dancing with each other—we can find ways of healing.” 

Mosley continued to offer these kinds of workshops with his company Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, but had to move on from AILEY. However, in 2012, Ailey Extension Director Lisa Johnson-Willingham invited Mosley to return the workshop to AILEY in partnership with his company. “We had an informal studio showing,” Mosley said, something that the previous workshops had not included, “and it was a huge success.” Since then, Hearts of Men has been a become a favorite offering of Ailey Extension, and Mosley sees growing numbers of men showing up to participate.  

The workshop offerings have also grown to include technique classes, repertory workshops, guest speakers, and a final performance. For this year's final performance, on Saturday, August 30, the Hearts of Men participants will perform in works choreographed by Ailey dancer Patrick Coker and Hearts of Men Associate Artistic Director Freddie Moore as well as artists Ehizoje Azeke, Roderick Jackson, and Jeremy Pichardo alongside choreographic contributions from Justin Bowen, Winston Dynamite Brown, Claudio Caverni, Isaiah Harvey, Abdul Latif, Daniel Padierna, and Robert Redick.   

“The finale piece is an African piece which we're really excited about,” Mosley said. “It’s always very exciting for everybody to get out there and do West African together as a big community. It's exciting for the audience as well. The audience is yelling and screaming. Everybody's cheering each other on. There's not a quiet moment.” 

The core of the workshop, however, remains the same: an inclusive space for men and masculine-identifying participants. “It's about movement and exchanging ideas and passions,” Mosley said. “The common denominator is that everybody in this space is moving.