Judith Jamison Announces Retirement
Thursday, February 28th, 2008
Judith Jamison Announces Retirement
Judith Jamison, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, announced on Thursday that she would retire in 2011. She plans to maintain her connection to the company, which she joined as a dancer in 1965, as artistic director emerita.
Appointed just weeks after the death of Alvin Ailey, the troupe’s founder, in December 1989, Ms. Jamison (pronounced JAM-ih-son) continued building the organization into what is arguably the world’s most successful modern-dance troupe. Under her leadership, the company built a gleaming new $56 million headquarters at Ninth Avenue and 55th Street in Manhattan.
I remember seeing this dance troup when she was principle dancer. She’s a national treasure.
PBS ran a great documentary on this dance troup: Dance in America: Beyond the Steps: Alvin Aley American Dance Theater.
