Judith Jamison in Alvin Ailey's Cry Photo by R. Faligant
POSTED November 12, 2024
Ms. Jamison was an unparalleled force in American dance, a powerhouse performer, and a visionary leader as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s second artistic director. Every person who has met her or seen her dance, even briefly, was affected by her beauty, grace, love, and sincerity. She is an icon who will always be remembered.
Born in Philadelphia in 1943, Ms. Jamison first saw Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1963, and the dancers made an indelible impression on her. Two years later, Alvin Ailey asked her to join the Company and she solidified her place in dance history. As a dancer, Ms. Jamison embodied Alvin Ailey’s tenet to make the choreography her own more than any other. She left an unforgettable personal stamp on many of his ballets, most powerfully in the solo Cry, which Mr. Ailey choreographed on her in 1971, catapulting her to international stardom.
Ms. Jamison danced with the Company until 1980, when she left to pursue opportunities on Broadway. She returned in 1984 as a choreographer with her debut work Divining, proving that she was as gifted a choreographer as she was a performer. In 1988, she established her own company, the Jamison Project. Shortly thereafter, following Alvin Ailey’s death, she became the second artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She went to work expanding on everything he began. She brought in more choreographers, nurtured the dancers in the Company, raised the funds to build the Joan Weill Center for Dance, expanded the organization’s outreach programs, and so much more. Under her stewardship, the Company flourished, reaching new heights of success with expanded international touring. Ms. Jamison carried on Mr. Ailey’s legacy by mentoring, nurturing, and uplifting hundreds of dancers in Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, The Ailey School, and Ailey Extension. She did not just teach dance; she embodied Mr. Ailey’s legacy. She taught that dance was about more than just well-executed steps, it was about the ability to bring one’s whole humanity to a performance, to be a human being on the stage.
Ms. Jamison passed away on November 9, 2024. She will be dearly missed but her legacy will live on at AILEY for generations to come.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2024-25 season will celebrate the life and legacy of Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison.
Judith Jamison in Alvin Ailey's Cry Photo by R. Faligant
Judith Jamison Photo by Andrew Eccles
Alvin Ailey and Judith Jamison Photo by Jack Mitchell. (©) Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc. and Smithsonian Institution
Judith Jamison in Alvin Ailey's The Mooche Photo by Henry Wolf, published in New York Magazine, November 10, 1975
Judith Jamison, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Alvin Ailey Photo by Jack Vartoogian
Judith Jamison and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's cast of Hymn Photo by Nan Melville
Judith Jamison in John Butler's Facets Photo by Jack Mitchell. (©) Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc. and Smithsonian Institution
Judith Jamison (left) and Marc Manigault (right) with Ms. Jamison's Emmy award
Judith Jamison in Geoffrey Holder’s The Prodigal Prince (1967) Photo by Jack Mitchell. (©) Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, Inc. and Smithsonian Institution
Hero Credit: Photo by Andrew Eccles