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 grew up in Philadelphia and began dancing at the age of six, she said in a 2019 Ted talk. She joined Ailey’s modern dance company in 1965, when few Black women were prominent in American dance, 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 its website.
Ailey said of Jamison in his 1995 autobiography that “with ‘Cry’ she became herself. Once she found this contact, this release, she poured her being into everybody who came to see her perform”.
Jamison performed on Broadway and formed her own dance company before returning to serve as artistic director for the Ailey troupe from 1989 to 2011.
“I felt prepared to carry [the company] forward. Alvin and I were like parts of the same tree. He, the roots and the trunk, and we were the branches. I was his muse. We were all his muses,” she said in the Ted talk.
Jamison received a Kennedy Center honor, National Medal of Arts and numerous other awards.
Mourning Jamison’s death, Michelle Obama wrote on Twitter/X: “Judith Jamison was a true visionary in the world of dance. From the American Ballet Theatre to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, she broke barriers and stirred souls with her grace and artistry.”
“Today, Judith’s spirit will live on in all the dancers she’s inspired, in all the pieces she’s perfected, in all the audiences she has moved and uplifted. Barack and I send our love to her family, her dancers, and to all those around who looked up to her,” she added.
Writing on Instagram, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater said: “We remember and are grateful for her artistry, humanity and incredible light, which inspired us all.”
The Dance Theater of Harlem in New York City echoed similar sentiments, saying: “We celebrate the life of the great Ms Judith Jamison. An icon and legend. We are all forever changed by her artistry and impact on the world. May she rest in peace.”
The ABC news anchor Deborah Roberts also wrote a post on X, saying: “Sad to lose this elegant and majestic spirit, Judith Jamison, at age 81. For decades she danced for and led the Alvin Ailey dance troupe and moved audiences along the way. Rest in Peace!”
