Ailey Dance Theater mourns Judith Jamison

Renowned dancer and choreographer Judith Jamison, who led the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for over two decades, passed away on Saturday in New York at 81. Jamison’s death occurred at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center after a brief illness, according to Christopher Zunner, managing director of public relations at the dance company.“We remember and are grateful for her artistry, humanity, and incredible light, which inspired us all,” Zunner stated.Born on May 10, 1943, in Philadelphia, Jamison discovered her love for dance early on, beginning lessons at age six at the Judimar School of Dance in her hometown. Encouraged initially to study the piano and violin, Jamison gravitated toward ballet, later training under African American dance pioneer Katherine Dunham. She attended Germantown High School and briefly enrolled at Fisk University before dedicating herself to dance and kinesiology studies at the Philadelphia Dance Academy.Jamison joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965, quickly becoming a celebrated figure in modern dance when few Black women held prominence in the field. Her defining moment came in 1971 with the premiere of& Cry, a 17-minute solo created by Alvin Ailey as a tribute “to all Black women everywhere—especially our mothers.” This piece...