Born in Rogers, Texas, on January 5, 1931, Alvin Ailey moved to Los Angeles at the age of twelve. During a junior high class trip to a performance of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, Ailey became captivated by concert dance. He was further inspired by performances of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and classes with dancer and choreographer Lester Horton, at whose Hollywood studio Ailey began his formal dance training in the late 1940s. Horton, the founder of the first racially integrated dance company in the United States, became a mentor for Ailey as he commenced his professional career.