Judith Jamison

Judith Jamison (1943–2024) was an American dancer and choreographer who performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and served as its artistic director from 1989 to 2011.

Alvin Ailey: Alvin Ailey was an American choreographer who founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958. Ailey recruited Jamison in 1965 and created the defining role of Judith in Cry.
Cry: Cry is a 1971 solo dance choreographed by Alvin Ailey for Judith Jamison. Jamison’s performance made its three-part journey of endurance and celebration a signature role.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a New York-based modern dance company founded by Alvin Ailey in 1958. Jamison led the company for 22 years, expanding its repertory and strengthening its institution.
Philadelphia: Philadelphia is a city in Pennsylvania and a major center of American arts and education. Jamison grew up there and began studying dance as a child.
Mikhail Baryshnikov: Mikhail Baryshnikov is a Russian-American ballet dancer and former artistic director of American Ballet Theatre. Jamison and Baryshnikov appeared together in the 1977 television dance special Baryshnikov at the White House.
Revelations: Revelations is Alvin Ailey’s 1960 ballet inspired by African American spirituals and gospel music. Jamison performed in this company-defining work and carried it forward as artistic director.
Ailey II: Ailey II is a dance company founded in 1974 as a bridge between training and professional performance. During Jamison’s directorship, the second company extended Ailey’s repertory and developed emerging dancers.
Judimar School of Dance: Judimar School of Dance was a Philadelphia dance school founded by Marion Cuyjet. Jamison trained there under Cuyjet, whose teaching grounded her early ballet and modern dance studies.
Rennie Harris: Rennie Harris is an American choreographer known for bringing hip-hop dance forms to concert stages. Jamison commissioned Harris’s Breaking Ground, bringing his hip-hop choreography into Ailey’s repertory.
Divining: Divining is a 1984 ballet choreographed by Judith Jamison for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The work reveals Jamison’s choreographic voice beyond her celebrated performances of Ailey’s dances.

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