Judith Jamison is leaving the post of artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with a smile and laughter. On Sunday night the company ended its annual season at City Center with a tribute to her that lasted over three hours.
"I have come a long way from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania," observed Judith Jamison, retiring artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and American dance icon. "Yeah!" shouted back many in her adoring audience.
This has been a year of big transitions for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: the naming of Judith Jamison's successor, Robert Battle, the death of Ailey School director Denise Jefferson and longtime company dancer Matthew Rushing being appointed rehearsal director this past June.
For Judith Jamison, there are no transitions. From star dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to directing the company and now handing the reins to someone else, it's all seamless.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater featured the old and the new at its opening night Wednesday. It's signature performance, "Revelations," marked its 50th anniversary and coincided with the premiere of "The Hunt," choreographed by incoming artistic director Robert Battle.
For someone who doesn't dance anymore, Judith Jamison turns up onstage with surprising frequency. That's because her colleagues at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater can't let her retire without acknowledging the key role she has played both as a flamboyant star of the 1960s and '70s and as the company's artistic director since 1989.
November 8: The presentation of the Mayor's Awards for Arts and Culture.
His biggest movie credit has been playing himself in " A Muppet Christmas: Letters to Santa," but Mayor Bloomberg is set to share top billing with double Oscar-winner Meryl Streep. Hizzoner will team up next Monday with the legendary actress to co-host the Mayor's Awards for Arts & Culture at Alice Tully Hall.
Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has received a National Award for Citizen Diplomacy from the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy.
Matthew Rushing moves like butter. He blends beautifully in any group, but as a soloist has a presence that simply rocks. During his 18-year tenure at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, he has shone in such works as Ailey's Revelations, A Song for You, Blues Suite, Pas de Duke, Reflections in D, to name only a few.