The Ailey Organization

Featured News Releases

Ailey Artistic Director Alicia Graf Mack Announces Debut Children's Book, Introducing Rhythm, With Vibrant Illustrations

NEW YORK – September 24, 2026 – Alicia Graf Mack, the Daria L. and Eric J. Wallach Artistic Director of AILEY, announces her debut children’s book, Introducing Rhythm, set for release on November 9 to kick off National Children’s Book Week (November 9–15). With full-color illustrations by artist Justin Campbell, Introducing Rhythm invites readers ages 4–12 into a joyful world of movement, music, and self-discovery.

Ailey Receives Major Gift From Board Chair Daria L. Wallach To Endow The Position Of Artistic Director

NEW YORK – February 4, 2026 — Bennett Rink, Executive Director of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, announced today that Daria L. Wallach, Chair of AILEY’s Board of Trustees, has made a landmark $10 million gift to endow the position of Artistic Director. In recognition of the historic importance of this contribution, leaders who hold the role will now be known as the Daria L. and Eric J. Wallach Artistic Director.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Opening Night Gala Honors Dance Education Luminary Jody Gottfried Arnhold Wednesday, December 4 At 7pm

NEW YORK — updated November 12, 2024 — Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater kicks off its five-week holiday season celebrating the life and legacy of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison on Wednesday, December 4 at 7pm with a star-studded Opening Night Gala, including a performance at New York City Center and party at Ziegfeld Ballroom. The Gala honors Jody Gottfried Arnhold for her steadfast commitment to accessible dance education for all and her invaluable support of AILEY’s mission. The Honorary Chairs for the evening are Gayle King, co-host of “CBS Mornings” and Editor-at-Large of Oprah Daily, and Phylicia Rashad, two-time Tony® Award-winning actress.

Featured Press Coverage

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Washington Life Magazine - Alvin Ailey's 25th Annual Gala

Talent and Vision: With a repertoire that features nearly 300 pieces by over 100 choreographers, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has graced stages in more than 70 nations across six continents and has been celebrated as a "Vital American Cultural Ambassador to the World" and Ailey did not disappoint the packed Kennedy Center Opera House audience during an extraordinary one-night-only gala performance, followed by an evening soiree at the Nations Gallery.

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Interview - “If You Can Walk, You Can Dance”: Inside the Whitney Museum’s Alvin Ailey Retrospective

In 1949, as legend has it, Alvin Ailey, then a young gymnast, followed school buddy and fellow future dance icon Carmen de Lavallade to the famed Lester Horton “Dance Theater” on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. It was a simple gesture that would lay the groundwork for the future of American concert dance. After Horton’s unexpected death, Ailey took over the Horton company for a while before starting the eponymous Alvin Ailey Company in New York, forming a beautiful, long and deeply intersectional lineage that incorporated dance, art, and innumerable interconnected histories culminating in the very first exhibit of the archival record of the Alvin Ailey Company, a show five years in the making and currently on view at The Whitney Museum of American Art.

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Town & Country - A Revelation on 55th Street

The life and legacy of Judith Jamison were celebrated on December 4 in New York City when Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater held an opening-night gala to kick off its season at New York City Center.