[citation needed] He attended Morehouse College but was unable to complete his degree due to financial issues.

[1] Afterwards, he traveled to New York City,[1] where Katherine Dunham Company dancer Lenwood Morris encouraged him to audition for the dance troupe.

He went on to perform on Broadway with the company through the 1940s and 1950s, as well as tour through United States, Europe and South America until the troupe disbanded in 1963.

[2] After the dance group was disbanded, Aikens briefly worked in film as an actor, singer, and dancer.

[citation needed] Later, he returned to the United States, where he worked with Katherine Dunham and the Alvin Ailey Dance Company in Los Angeles.