Judith Jamison

Judith Jamison is a dancer, choreographer, and artistic director who became the most celebrated figure in American modern dance and carried the legacy of Alvin Ailey into the 21st century. Her iconic performance of Ailey's solo Cry — a 16-minute tour de force dedicated "to all Black women everywhere, especially our mothers" — is one of the most powerful performances in the history of dance, a work of such emotional intensity that audiences wept.

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1943, Jamison studied dance from age six and trained at the Philadelphia Dance Academy and the Juilliard School. She joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became its principal dancer and most magnetic performer. Her tall, regal bearing and extraordinary expressiveness made her the embodiment of Ailey's artistic vision — a celebration of Black beauty, strength, and spirituality through movement.

When Alvin Ailey joined the ancestors in 1989, he chose Jamison to succeed him as artistic director of the company. She led the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for over 20 years, expanding its repertoire, nurturing new choreographers, and ensuring that the company remained the premier institution for African American dance in the world. Jamison received the National Medal of Arts, the Kennedy Center Honor, and was named one of Time magazine's most influential people. She retired as artistic director in 2011 but remains the living embodiment of dance as a force for cultural preservation and human expression.