As a dancer I was always fascinated with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, its founder and, of course, its dancers. I marveled at grainy photographs of Mr. Ailey in the studio with his dancers working on what might in the future be deemed a masterpiece.
A conversation with Judith Jamison, Arts Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
If I could take a guess, I would simply say that God designed my body to move. I can't sit still for more than 10 minutes. I can't read and listen to music at the same time because my mind starts choreographing.
At a time when racism kept African American talent out of major dance troupes, the trailblazing Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, founded in 1958, not only broke the color barrier but brought modern dance to a mass audience.
It ain't easy keeping a dance company alive and kicking for 50 years - and doing it with flying colors is cause for celebration!
New York audiences are so used to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's annual winter appearances at City Center that the idea of finding the company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in June is positively disconcerting.
Inspiring donors and audiences alike, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater sails into its next half-century with equal parts exuberance and grace.
Sylvia Waters and Judith Jamison
There's something alluring and a little bit mysterious about hip-hop dance, even performed informally on the street by a group of teenagers killing time.
Tips to extend your dancing career