Judith Jamison joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and soon rose to international stardom.
Widely recognized as Alvin Ailey’s muse, Ailey created roles for Jamison which remain as iconic works of 20th century dance.
“We’ve all been through the same stuff. Period. And yet we are here to tell the tale,” she said. “Of wading through the water and getting through the other side. Every choreographer who comes through Ailey, as long as they’re a truth-teller, they are welcomed.”
Jamison took over the helm of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as artistic director in 1989 after Ailey’s death and served in that capacity until 2011.
She is active as artistic director emerita. In this interview on “City Lights with Lois Reitzes” Jamison speaks about the company’s 60 year legacy of transforming the ways that we express and understand ourselves and our culture through dance.
