[From Alvin Ailey.com]
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Led by Alvin Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers, that performance changed forever the perception of American dance.
The Ailey company has gone on to perform for an estimated 25 million 
people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents – as well as millions more through television broadcasts, film screenings, and online platforms.
In 2008, a U.S. Congressional resolution designated the Company as “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world” that celebrates the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage.
We Came as Roman's musical style has been described as post-hardcore and metalcore. Their songs regularly include melodic passages with orchestral instrumentation, such as violin and keyboard ballads. We Came as Romans has also been described as a mix between hardcore and screamo.
The band's lyrics feature an "overall theme of positivity" discussing topics such as purpose, hope, brotherhood, and morality Their self-titled 2015 album marks a noticeable shift in style to a more radio-friendly sound, and has been described as "alternative rock meets marketable nu metal." According to Kill Your Stereo, the band continues to "grow out of their heavier metalcore roots and move towards a more alternative metal, melodic direction," embracing a "more mature" sound.
In all started for the band back in 2005, high school seniors Sean Zelda, Dave Stephens, Jonny Nabors, Mark Myatt and Joshua Moore formed a band called "This Emergency". During those years, vocalist Dave Stephens performed the guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals. They performed various shows throughout the metro Detroit area. It was in November of 2005, the band parted ways with bass player, Jonny Nabors and replaced him with Sean Daly. The 
following year in June 2006, Zelda quit the band to pursue his degree at the University of Michigan. That summer a close friend of the band, Larry Clark, officially joined on vocals and changed their name to We Came as Romans. Clark left the band in late-2007 and the band added ex-I See Stars keyboardist Chris Moore into the band as the new singer and welcomed back Dave Stephens to the band. According to Dave Stephens, during this time, two songs entitled "Mouth to Mouth" & the original version of "Colours" were released with Larry Clark as the vocalist. According to the band's publicist at Equal Vision Records, Joshua Moore assumed duties of writing the majority of the lyrics from this point on.
