The way Ailey II artistic director Sylvia Waters sees it, "dance is a profession that chooses you." Waters became one of the chosen as a junior high school student in Harlem learning time steps at the hands of a tough gym teacher.
The unforgettably tall and expressive dancer, who joined Alvin Ailey in 1965, is retiring as its artistic director next year. As she leads a nationwide tour this spring, she remembers the smells that kept her on her toes.
Over the last 45 years, Judith Jamison has been instrumental in the success of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater--first as a dancer with Ailey from 1965 to 1980, and, for the last 20 years, as the company's artistic director.
For 20 years, Judith Jamison has not just tended the flame, but fueled the company so that it burns more brightly.
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 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."