Mr. Ailey's own dances, however, form the core of the company's repertory. They range from work drawn from his memories of the black churches and honky-tonk bars he knew as a child to searing social protest dances like his 1969 ''Masekela Langage'' (a piece about being black in South Africa), to spirited, stylish celebrations of the music of Duke Ellington (''Night Creature,'' 1974).

An imposing, shy bear of a man, Mr. Ailey was capable of extreme reserve as well as sudden bursts of exuberance and deep affection for longtime colleagues. He spoke often of his belief in the universality of art, sometimes using his ''Revelations'' as an example. That 1960 work, which became his most popular piece and a classic of American modern dance, celebrated black spirituals, gospel music and small-town religion. ''Its roots are in American Negro culture, which is part of the whole country's heritage,'' Mr. Ailey once said. ''But the dance speaks to everyone. . . . Otherwise it wouldn't work.''

Mr. Ailey, who stopped dancing in 1965, drew upon classical ballet, jazz dance, Afro-Caribbean dance and the modern-dance idioms of Lester Horton and Martha Graham for his pieces. In an interview in 1971, he said: ''We talk too much of black art when we should be talking about art, just art. Black composers must be free to write rondos and fugues, not only protest songs. I use Ellington and I want to use more of his music, but it's music.''

In the modern-dance world, once known for cultish audiences, he was sometimes criticized for the overt theatricality of the company's performances and repertory. ''The black pieces we do that come from blues, spirituals and gospels are part of what I am,'' he said in a 1973 interview with Ellen Cohn in The New York Times Magazine. ''They are as honest and truthful as we can make them. I'm interested in putting something on stage that will have a very wide appeal without being condescending; that will reach an audience and make it part of the dance; that will get everybody in the theater. What do people mean when they say we're 'Broadway'? If it's art and entertainment - thank God, that's what I want to be.''

The company was composed exclusively of black dancers until 1963, and Mr. Ailey was criticized in an era of black militancy for his subsequent decision to integrate his troupe. ''I feel an obligation to use black dancers because there must be more opportunities for them, but not because I'm a black choreographer talking to black people,'' he said in the 1973 interview. But he added: ''I met some incredible dancers of other colors who could cut the work. Also, we were running into reverse racism. On our Asian tour in 1962, people kept saying about my pieces and Talley Beatty's piece - 'Oh, they're wonderful, but only black people can do jazz.' ''