Judith Jamison, an acclaimed dancer and choreographer, who for two decades was artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, died on Saturday in New York, at the age of 81.
Her death came after a brief illness, according to a post on the company’s Instagram page.
Jamison joined Alvin Ailey’s dance company in 1965 and performed there for 15 years. In 1971, she premiered Cry, a 17-minute solo that Ailey dedicated “to all Black women everywhere – especially our mothers”, and which became a signature of the company, according to the Alvin Ailey website.
In 1989, after Alvin Ailey’s death, Jamison became the company’s artistic director. Over the next 20 years, she transformed the dance theatre into one of the most successful modern dance companies in the country. She helped the company grow in size, brought in new works from various choreographers, and guided her dancers to reach their best.
As a dancer, choreographer, director and speaker, her distinguished career leaped over barriers of race and gender.
“She was a unique, spectacular dancer who was majestic and queenly. She danced with eloquence and integrity,” Sylvia Waters, Ailey II Artistic Director Emerita, said Saturday following the new of Jamison’s death.
Jamison’s directorship of the Ailey theater “sustained the company and helped it to grow. She was an eloquent speaker, strong leader and ran a tight ship,” Waters said.
Jamison was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors in 1999. Other honors included the National Medal of Arts and the Handel Medallion, the highest cultural award from New York City.