James Truitte; Ailey Troupe Principal

James Truitte, 72, a world-renowned dancer who performed with the Lester Horton and Alvin Ailey companies. He had spent the past 25 years teaching at the University of Cincinnati’s Conservatory of Music. Before that, Truitte was a principal dancer with the Horton Theater Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, also serving as associate artistic director for the Ailey group. He danced in the films “The Golden Hawk” and “South Pacific” as well as in Hollywood and Las Vegas revues and on television programs. The Chicago-born Truitte began premedical studies at UCLA, but succumbed to the lure of dance while working as a bartender at Club Alabam on Central Avenue. He studied with Archie Savage, whom he met in the Los Angeles club, and then with Horton and others, including Robert Joffrey. In Ohio, Truitte was also artist in residence with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, where he had taught a weekly class for 18 years. On Monday in Cincinnati.