Judith Jamison's Dance Roots │ Jacob's Pillow Dance
Judith Jamison,
Artistic Director Emerita of the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater discusses her dance career—from the early years of her training in
Philadelphia with
Marion Cuyjet and the lack of African-American dancers represented in ballet to her first encounter with
Alvin Ailey. Moderated by
Norton Owen,
Director of Preservation at
Jacob's Pillow.
EXCERPT from PillowTalk: Judith Jamison's
Life in
Dance. Recorded July 13,
2012.
PillowTalks feature world-renowned choreographers, dancers, authors, filmmakers, historians, and critics in live hour-long moderated discussions of the cultural forces shaping the field of dance. Curated by Jacob's Pillow Director of Preservation Norton Owen and moderated by Jacob's Pillow Scholars-in-Residence, PillowTalks use dance as a prism to explore the world at large.
For more information on Jacob's Pillow please visit
http://www.jacobspillow.org
Judith Jamison -- After joining Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in
1965, Ms. Jamison quickly became an international star. Over the next 15 years, Mr.
Ailey created some of his most enduring roles for her, most notably the tour-de-force solo Cry. During the
1970s and 80s, she appeared as a guest artist with ballet companies all over the world, starred in the hit
Broadway musical Sophisticated Ladies, and formed her own company, The Jamison
Project. She returned to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in
1989 when Mr. Ailey asked her to succeed him as Artistic Director. In the 21 years that followed, she brought the
Company to unprecedented heights -- including two historic engagements in
South Africa and a 50-city global tour to celebrate the Company's 50th anniversary. Ms. Jamison is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, among them a prime time
Emmy Award, an
American Choreography Award, the
Kennedy Center Honor, a
National Medal of Arts, a "
Bessie" Award, the
Phoenix Award, and the
Handel Medallion. She was also listed in "The
TIME 100:
The World's Most Influential
People" and honored by
First Lady Michelle Obama at the first
White House Dance
Series event.
As a highly regarded choreographer, Ms. Jamison has created many celebrated works, including Divining (
1984),
Forgotten Time (1989),
Hymn (
1993), HERE
. . .NOW. (commissioned for the
2002 Cultural Olympiad),
Love Stories (with additional choreography by
Robert Battle and Rennie
Harris,
2004), and Among Us (
Private Spaces:
Public Places) (2009). Ms. Jamison's autobiography,
Dancing Spirit, was edited by
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and published in 1993. In 2004, under Ms. Jamison's artistic directorship, her idea of a permanent
home for the Ailey company was realized and named after chairman
Joan Weill. Ms. Jamison continues to dedicate herself to asserting the prominence of the arts in our culture, and she remains committed to promoting the significance of the Ailey legacy -- using dance as a medium for honoring the past, celebrating the present and fearlessly reaching into the future.
Ms. Jamison began her association with Jacob's Pillow in
1974, when she performed works by
Geoffrey Holder,
Lucas Hoving, and
John Parks in the
Ted Shawn Theatre. She taught in
The School at Jacob's Pillow on three occasions in the
1980s and
1990s, and returned for a weeklong teaching residency in 2012. The Jamison Project enjoyed a close relationship with the
Pillow in
1988 and 1989, and Ms. Jamison served as a member of the Jacob's Pillow
Board from
1990 to
1998. She appears in Never
Stand Still, an award-winning documentary about the Pillow released in 2012.
Norton Owen - As Director of Preservation for
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Norton Owen programs the PillowTalks series, directs all activities involving the extensive
Archives, and serves as curator for several exhibitions each season. He is a contributing author to numerous books and publications, past
Chair of the Dance
Heritage Coalition,
President of the O'Donnell-Green
Music and Dance
Foundation, and was for many years the
Institute Director of the
José Limón Dance Foundation. In
2000, Dance/
USA honored Owen with its Ernie
Award for "unsung heroes who have led exemplary lives in dance."