Judith Jamison has accomplished so much in two decades as artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, that she had to ask her office to fax a fact sheet to her hotel, during a Washington tour stop, so she could be reminded of it all before an interview.
Judith Jamison’s home is on the stage. It is there where she has captured the hearts of audiences around the world and astonished them with her beauty and grace.
In a special ceremony tonight at The Kennedy Center, Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will donate her costume from the 1975 ballet, The Mooche, to the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
"You ever play an old record that just made you feel good about everything?" Judith Jamison asked. "These times make me feel very good about the work I'm doing."
"I will be making a lot of surprise drop-in visits to The Ailey Extension. I love seeing the surprised look on the students' faces."
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) City Center season, which runs from December 2 to January 3, is hot, hot, hot.
Judith Jamison, the legendary dancer and choreographer, took up drawing a few years ago on the advice of a friend. She was in the Adirondacks sketching with markers and paper in the middle of the night, when she drew a figure that sent shivers up her spine.
Every time I see Alvin Ailey’s beloved Revelations, and the music for “Wade in the Water” begins, I remember Judith Jamison performing that soul-lifting sequence. This isn’t fair to whatever current company member is doing it, I know, but I can’t help it.
At the glass palace that is Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's headquarters, Judith Jamison is literally enshrined.
Judith Jamison first took the stage with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 44 years ago, and this season she celebrates her 20th year as artistic director of the prolific dance company.