Judith Jamison(born 1943), artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater since 1989. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jamison began studying both ballet and modern dance at age six. She made her stage debut in 1959 dancing the title role in the ballet Giselle. Jamison studied psychology at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, for three years, and then transferred to the Philadelphia Dance Academy (now part of the University of the Arts). She made her New York City debut in 1965 with American Ballet Theatre in The Four Marys, created by American choreographer Agnes De Mille. Later in 1965 Jamison joined the dance troupe led by Alvin Ailey. Tall and athletic, she was a majestic and elegant dancer with great stage presence. Ailey created some of his best-known works for her, including Cry (1971), a solo tribute to African American women. She remained with the company for 15 years. In 1980 Jamison left Ailey's company to star in the Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies. During the 1980s she appeared as a guest artist with dance companies around the world, including the American Ballet Theatre; Ballet of the 20th Century, led by Maurice Béjart; and the state opera ballets of Vienna, Austria, and Munich and Hamburg, Germany. Encouraged by Ailey, she began to choreograph her own works during the mid-1980s. Jamison's first dance, Divining, was based on African rhythms and was staged by Ailey's company in 1984. Jamison formed her own modern dance company, the Jamison Project, in 1988. Following Ailey's death in 1989, she was named artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and subsequently disbanded the Jamison Project. Hymn, her tribute to Ailey, was presented by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1993. Jamison's ballet Riverside premiered in 1995. In 1996 she collaborated with trumpet player Wynton Marsalis to create the dance Sweet Release. Her autobiography, Dancing Spirit, was published in 1993.
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