In Memoriam: Judith Jamison, dance pioneer

Judith Jamison, a dance pioneer and former artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, died Nov. 9, after a brief illness.

Statement on her passing

She was 81.

In a statement on social media, the company remembered the bright star.

“We remember and are grateful for her artistry, humanity and incredible light, which inspired us all,” read a statement from the company posted on social media.

Judith Jamison was a major figure of American dance who grew up in Philadelphia.

Jamison was born on May 10, 1943 in Philadelphia to the daughter of a sheet metal engineer and a drama teacher. She primarily attended Fisk University in Tennessee. When she decided to focus her studies on dance, Jamison transferred from the HBCU to the Philadelphia Dance Academy.

Alvin Ailey

Jamison joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became a revered international dance star.

Over the next fifteen years in her journey, she created some of Ailey’s most enduring roles for her, most notably tour-de-force Solo Cry.

Other dance roles

Jamison left Ailey’s company in 1980 to expand her horizons. She would go on to  star on Broadway, appeared as a guest artist with ballet companies all over the world, and formed her own company, The Jamison Project.

Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

In 1989, Jamison returned to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and took over as Artistic Director.

Under her leadership from 1989 to 2011, she turned the company into a powerhouse of American dance for more than 20 years.

In 2005, her idea of a permanent home for the Ailey dance group came to fruition with the opening of The Joan Weill for Dance.