Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Explained

Founding Director:Alvin Ailey
Artistic Director:Alicia Graf Mack (beginning July 1, 2025)
Location:The Joan Weill Center for Dance
405 West 55th Street
New York, New York 10019
Venue:New York City Center
Executive Director:Bennett Rink
Official School:Ailey School
Associated Schools:Ailey Extension

Founded in 1958, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is the largest modern dance company in the United States.[1] Based in New York City, the company was founded by Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), a noted choreographer and dancer. The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, which includes AAADT and Ailey II, the Ailey School, Ailey Extension, AileyCamp, and other operations, is housed in the 87,000 square-foot Joan Weill Center for Dance, one of the largest buildings dedicated exclusively to dance in the United States.[2] AAADT is recognized as a vital American cultural ambassador,[3] and has performed for diverse audiences in more than seventy countries around the world.

History

In 1958, Alvin Ailey and a group of young Black modern dancers performed as "Alvin Ailey and Company" at the 92nd Street Y in New York.[4] [5] [6] Ailey was the company's director, choreographer, and principal dancer. The company started as an ensemble of seven dancers, including Nat Horne, Minnie Marshall, Ella Thompson Moore, and Dorene Richardson, "the only dancer who performed in Alvin Ailey’s two concerts (1958 and 1960) at the 92nd Street Y."[7] In addition to Ailey, the original company worked with guest choreographers in addition to Ailey.[8] For the company's first performance, Ailey's Ariette Oubliee, Blues Suite, and Cinco Latinos were featured.[5]

In 1960, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, later to be renamed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), presented the premiere of Revelations at Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York.[5] [9] Rehearsals for Revelations were held in the basement of Clark Center for the Performing Arts,[7] which would later serve as the official residence for the company.[5] [10]

In 1962, Ailey recast his all-black dance company into a multi-racial group, and the modernized company completed its first international tour to Australia and southeast Asia.[4] [11] The tour of the Lavallade-Ailey American Dance Company, named for Ailey's partnership with Carmen de Lavallade, started in Sydney, Australia, and ended in Seoul, South Korea.

In 1964, the company of five women and five men toured as the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The dancers included Loretta Abbot, Takako Asakawa, Hope Clarke, Joan Peters, and Lucinda Ransom, Alvin Ailey, Bill Luther, Hector Mercado, James Truitte, and Dudley Williams, performed in Paris and London.[12]

In 1965, Judith Jamison joined the company[13] and would later serve as the company's first artistic director after Alvin Ailey's death in 1989.[4]

In 1969, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed at Broadway's Billy Rose Theater.[14]

In 1970, the Ailey company and school relocated to 229 East 59th Street in Manhattan, a renovated church building. In April of that year, a financial crisis caused Ailey to issue a statement that the dissolution of the company might take place.[15] The crisis abated, however, and in 1971 AAADT made its first performance at the New York City Center.[16]

In 1974, AAADT had their State Theater at Lincoln Center debut.[9] [17] The program featured Ailey's “Feast of Ashes,” Talley Beatty's “The Road of the Phoebe Snow,” John Butler's “Portrait of Billie” revival, the premiere of John Jones's “Nocturne,” and Joyce Trisler's “Journey.”

In 1977, the company performed at President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration gala.[9]

In 1988, AAADT hosted its 30th-anniversary season gala at the City Center.[18] The company and school are located at 45th Street and Broadway, [18] and move the following year into a 36,000 square-foot space at 211 West 61st Street in Manhattan.

In 1989, Alvin Ailey died from AIDS-related complications.[19] [20] Judith Jamison, who rejoined AAADT in 1989, replaced Ailey as the artistic director of AAADT.[21] The company was struggling with mounting debts,[22] and the number of company dancers was reduced.[18]

In 2000, AAADT launched the silent phase of a five year, sixty-six million dollar capital campaign for a new building that would double its size and an endowment for financial stability.[23]

In 2002, AAADT broke ground on its new building site on West 55th Street.[23]

In 2004, the United States Postal Service issued a first class postage stamp honoring Alvin Ailey as part of the American Choreographers stamp series,[4] [24] and the Oprah Winfrey Foundation pledged one million dollars to endow a student scholarship at the Ailey School.[25] [26]

In 2005, the Ailey organization, including the main company, Ailey II, and the Ailey School, moved into its new West 55th Street home, the Joan Weill Center for Dance, the former WNET-TV studios where AAADT first appeared on television in the early 1960s.[27]

In 2008, Glorya Kaufman donated six million dollars to AAADT's educational programs, including support for AileyCamp programs, the Ailey School, and Ailey's BFA program with Fordham University.[28] The fifth floor lobby in the Weill Center for Dance is named in Kaufman's honor.[28]

Also in 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution officially designating the company a "vital American Cultural Ambassador to the World."[3] [29] [30]

In 2011, the United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing the artistic and cultural contributions of AAADT and the 50th Anniversary of the first performance of the Ailey classic Revelations.[29] That same year, Robert Battle, artistic director (2011-2023), established a New Directions Choreography Lab to nurture emerging artists.[31]

In 2014, AAADT kicks off a fifty million dollar capital campaign, "Campaign for Ailey's Future," to support artistic, educational, and building expansion projects, and to honor outgoing board chair Joan Weill. Sandy Weill, Joan Weill's husband, provided a lead gift of sixteen million dollars to the campaign.

In 2021, AAADT received a twenty million dollar gift from MacKenzie Scott to support its "Dancing Forward" initiatives.[32] [33] In 2024, the Whitney Museum unveiled "Edges of Ailey," the first major museum exhibition to survey the artistry of Alvin Ailey and AAADT.[34] [4] In November 2024, AAADT announced that Alicia Graf Mack, a former Alvin Ailey company member and the dean and director of the dance division at Juilliard, will take over as AAADT artistic director on July 1, 2025.

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation

The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation is the largest modern and contemporary dance organization in the United States[1] and consists of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, The Ailey School, Ailey Camp, Ailey Extension, and Ailey Arts In Education and Community Programs.[35]

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Performances and tours

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, a prominent dance company and global arts institution, has performed for audiences around the world.[32] The following is a sample of significant AAADT performances, residencies, and tours:

Repertory and choreographers

Alvin Ailey created seventy-nine dances for the company that bears his name.[4] He maintained that the company was not solely a repository for his choreography, and sought the contributions from other choreographers. Today, AAADT has a repertory of nearly three hundred works by more than one hundred choreographers,[40] including:

The company keeps Alvin Ailey's works, including Revelations (1960), Night Creature (1974) and Cry (1971), in continuous performance. Memoria was one of Alvin Ailey's balletic pieces, with long lines and a clear technical style different from his usual jazz character style of swirling patters, strong, driving arm movements, huge jumps, and thrusting steps. This dance was later adopted into the repertory of the Royal Danish Ballet. Cry is a three-part, 17-minute solo created for Judith Jamison. It was meant to pay homage to "all Black women everywhere, especially our mothers" and can be seen as a journey from degradation to pride, defiance, and survival.[42] [43] [44] [45]

Ailey II

In 1974, Ailey created the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble (later renamed Ailey II).[32] In 1980, the second company and the Ailey School relocated to four new studios in a building on Broadway.

The Ailey School

The Ailey School was established in 1969,[32] [23] the same year the company moved to the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[46] The Ailey School is an accredited institutional member of the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD).[47] The school is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an institution of higher education[48] and is eligible to participate in Title IV programs.

In 1998, the Ailey School and Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC), Fordham University launched a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree program.[5] [49] The program is recognized as one of the preeminent BFA dance programs in the country.[50]

AileyCamp

In 1989, Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey is founded and develops into the national AileyCamp program.[4] By 2016, AileyCamp expanded to ten cities: Atlanta, GA; Baltimore, MD; Berkeley/ Oakland, CA; Chicago, IL; Kansas City, KS; Kansas City, MO; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Newark, NJ; and Seattle/Tacoma, WA.[4]

In 2023, AileyCamp Atlanta launches a partnership as part of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ Year of the Youth initiative.[4]

The Ailey Extension

The Ailey Extension was created in 2005.[32] Ailey Extension offers instruction in more than 25 different dance and fitness techniques, including Ballet, Hip-Hop, Horton, House, Jazz, Masala Bhangra, Samba, West African, and Zumba.[51]

Joan Weill Center for Dance

Since 2005, the Ailey organization has been headquartered at the Joan Weill Center for Dance, which was originally designed as a 77,000 square-foot building.[32] [52] The Weill Center features state-of-the-art dance studios, a performance space with a seating capacity of 275 people, classrooms, a costume shop, physical therapy facilities, faculty and student lounges, and administrative offices.[53]

In the late 1990s, following their Russia, France and Cuba tours and South Africa residency, AAADT's leadership determined that it needed a larger space for rehearsals, school performances, production materials, and offices.[23] The board of trustees established a campaign steering committee to identify potential major donors. Joan Weill, who served fourteen years as chairwoman of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation,[54] and her husband, Sandy Weill, co-chaired the building capital campaign,[54] [55] and donated a total of eighteen million dollars to the effort.[23]

The Elaine Wynn and Family Education Wing

In 2017, AAADT unveiled The Elaine Wynn and Family Education Wing, a 10,000-square-foot expansion to the Weill Center.[4] Elaine Wynn is a major donor to AAADT.[56] The Wynn Wing adds three floors to Weill Center and features four additional dance studios, two new flexible classrooms, and administrative offices.[57]

Leadership

Artistic director

Associate artistic director and rehearsal director

Ailey II

Ailey School

Board of trustees

The following is a partial list of trustees who have played a major role in AAADT's history.

Executive director

Dancers

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Ailey II

Former dancers

A partial list of former Alvin Ailey dancers.

Notes and References

  1. Dance Data Project (October 2024). 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ranks #1 in “Largest 50” U.S. Contemporary and Modern Companies (by expenditure). p. 6.
  2. (February 2006). Harting, Rebecca, and Pablo Bruno P.E. Revelations: the Joan Weill Center for Dance. Structure Magazine.
  3. "Text - H.Res.1088 - 110th Congress (2007-2008): Recognizing and commending the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 50 years of service as a vital American cultural ambassador to the world." Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 15 July 2008, https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-resolution/1088/text.
  4. https://s3.amazonaws.com/cms.ipressroom.com/292/files/202410/202411131835/AAADT_NYCC_PressKit_2024.pdf Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 2024-25 Press Kit.
  5. https://ailey.org/history#1958 Ailey History
  6. Web site: 2006-02-10 . Alvin Ailey Dance Company Comes to Dorothy Chandler . 2023-05-10 . Glendale News-Press . en-US.
  7. City Parks Foundation (August 14, 2019). THE FIRST AILEY DANCERS: ELLA THOMPSON, NAT HORNE & DORENE RICHARDSON
  8. "Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre: Origins to 1979", International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 1. Oxford University Press, New York: 1979. 54–57.
  9. Burford, Mark (December 07, 2021). Alvin Ailey Finds His Voice. Oxford American, ISSUE 115, WINTER 2021.
  10. Web site: Armstrong . Jenice . April 23, 2008 . Jenice Armstrong: Alvin Ailey troupe's famed Judith Jamison reflects on its 'past, present and future' . 2023-05-09 . inquirer . en.
  11. Web site: Transforming Dance around the World . 2023-05-09 . National Museum of African American History and Culture . en.
  12. https://www.nytimes.com/1964/12/27/archives/london-likes-american-dancers.html London Likes American Dancers
  13. Kisselgoff, Anna (December 10, 1993). Review/Dance; With Motion and Song, the Ailey Marks 35 Years. New York Times.
  14. Barnes, Clive (January 28, 1969). Dance: Ailey and Troupe in Triumph; Start Run on Broadway After a Decade Away. New York Times.
  15. News: Kisselgoff . Anna . 1970-04-23 . City Ballet and Musicians Talk; Ailey May Disband His Troupe . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-10 . 0362-4331.
  16. News: 1971-03-16 . CITY CENTER TO ADD AILEY DANCE SEASON . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-10 . 0362-4331.
  17. McDonagh, Don (December 29, 1974). Alvin Ailey—A Remarkable Year. New York Times.
  18. Kisselgoff, Anna (December 4, 1988). DANCE VIEW; Ailey: Dancing the Dream. New York Times.
  19. Kourlas, Gia (November 27, 2018). "A Dance Homage to Alvin Ailey as His Company Turns 60". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
  20. CBC Radio (August 13, 2021). He was Black, gay and bipolar — and he forever changed the face of modern dance. New documentary explores the complex life and legacy of American dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey.
  21. https://pressroom.alvinailey.org/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater/directors/judith-jamison Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita
  22. Kaufman, Sarah (January 24, 2004. The Ailey: Healthy, Wealthy and Prized. The Washington Post.
  23. Gardner, Margaret Battistelli (April 1, 2005). Fluid Fundraising: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's capital campaign was a well-choreographed project that breathed new life into the organization's fundraising plan. NonProfitPRO.
  24. https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/the-black-experience-film-and-theatre/alvin-ailey Alvin Ailey Master of Choreography
  25. Segal, Lewis (May 26, 2004). Oprah’s no wallflower at this dance. Los Angeles Times.
  26. Alexandra (May 20, 2004). Oprah gives $1 million to Ailey School. Ballet Alert!
  27. Web site: Patton . Charlie . May 14, 2010 . As artist director prepares to pass the torch, Alvin Ailey dance theater comes to Jacksonville . 2023-05-09 . The Florida Times-Union . en-US.
  28. Cole, Patrick (May 21, 2008). Dancing Philanthropist Gives $6 Million to Alvin Ailey Troupe. Bloomberg.
  29. Web site: S.Res.72 - 112th Congress (2011–2012): A resolution recognizing the artistic and cultural contributions of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the 50th Anniversary of the first performance of Alvin Ailey's masterwork, 'Revelations'.. Gillibrand. Kirsten E.. February 17, 2011. www.congress.gov. July 29, 2019.
  30. Web site: S.Res.490 - 110th Congress (2007–2008): A resolution recognizing the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 50 years of service to the performing arts.. Clinton. Hillary Rodham. September 23, 2008. www.congress.gov. July 29, 2019.
  31. News: Lee . Felicia R. . 2011-05-12 . Ailey Awards New Choreography Fellowships . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-09 . 0362-4331.
  32. Press release (June 22, 2021).$20 MILLION GIFT FROM MACKENZIE SCOTT TO ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER TO FUND THE COMPANY’S TRANSFORMATIVE “DANCING FORWARD” INITIATIVES. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
  33. Daniels, Karu F. (June 23, 2021). How Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater plans to use $20 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. NY Daily News.
  34. https://whitney.org/exhibitions/edges-of-ailey Edges of Ailey. Through February 9, 2025.
  35. Fitch Ratings (May 9, 2023). Fitch Affirms Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, NY at 'AA-'; Outlook Stable.
  36. https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stories/transforming-dance-around-world Our American Story: Transforming Dance around the World
  37. https://ailey.org/blog/5-historic-ailey-tours 5 Historic Ailey Tours
  38. DeFrantz, Thomas F., 'Early Company', Dancing Revelations: Alvin Ailey's Embodiment of African American Culture (2006; online edn, Oxford Academic, 3 Oct. 2011), https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195301717.003.0003, accessed 17 Nov. 2024.
  39. https://pressroom.alvinailey.org/file/artistic-director-robert-battle-and-aaadt-members-at-the-white-house-for-a-special-performance-during-2023-ngawm-at-the-invitation-of-first-lady-jill-biden?action= Artistic Director Robert Battle and AAADT members at the White House for a special performance during the 2023 National Governors Association Winter Meeting at the invitation of First Lady Jill Biden
  40. https://ailey.org/repertory Ailey Repertory
  41. Cal Performances (March 13, 2018). Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Chronological Repertory of Works Performed at Cal Performances.
  42. Web site: Gates . Elizabeth . 2023-03-14 . A Teen Dancer Reflects on Seeing Alvin Ailey's Iconic 'Revelations' for the First Time . 2023-05-09 . VOX ATL . en-US.
  43. Web site: Night Creature - April 14 -28, 2021 - The Montrealer . 2023-05-09 . themontrealeronline.com.
  44. News: Gladstone . Valerie . 2000-11-26 . DANCE; The Long Shadow Of Ailey's Great 'Cry' . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-09 . 0362-4331.
  45. News: 2009-09-15 . Alvin Ailey dancers bring "Memoria" to Copenhagen . en . Reuters . 2023-05-09.
  46. Web site: Rabinowitz . Chloe . April 11, 2023 . Alvin Ailey to Return to BAM for First Time in More Than a Decade With Two Programs . 2023-05-10 . BroadwayWorld.com . en.
  47. https://nasd.arts-accredit.org/directory-lists/accredited-institutions/search/?id=I0001 ACCREDITED INSTITUTIONS SEARCH: THE AILEY SCHOOL
  48. https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/institution-profile/129349 The Ailey School
  49. Web site: Partnerships and Affiliations The Ailey School. Fordham University. May 3, 2022.
  50. Kaufman, Adam (July 24, 2024). The Ailey/Fordham BFA in Dance Turns 25. Fordham Magazine.
  51. https://s3.amazonaws.com/cms.ipressroom.com/292/files/20243/Physical+Fitness+Month+2024+at+Ailey+Extension.pdf AILEY EXTENSION IS SHAKING UP PHYSICAL FITNESS MONTH WITH UPBEAT WORLD DANCE WORKSHOPS, A LIVELY FREE TIMES SQUARE DANCE SERIES, AND MORE WAYS TO KEEP MOVING THROUGHOUT MAY
  52. Quinn, Emily (November 3, 2004).Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Will Open New Building With Celebration in March 2005. Playbill.
  53. https://ailey.org/joan-weill-center-dance The Joan Weill Center for Dance
  54. Pogrebin, Robin (November 13, 2014). A $40 Million Thank You for Joan Weill’s Service to Ailey Foundation. New York Times.
  55. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/alvin-ailey-dance-foundation-launches-campaign-with-40-million Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Launches Campaign With $40 Million. November 18, 2014
  56. Bray, Sarah (October 2017).Billionaire Businesswoman Elaine Wynn Makes a Major Donation to Alvin Ailey. A $25 million wing in her name just opened at the company's New York City headquarters. Town and Country.
  57. Andriotis, Mary Elizabeth. Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Celebrates Expansion: The $25 million project resulted in the new Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing at the Joan Weill Center for Dance. DuJour.
  58. Kourlas, Gia (June 13, 2013), "Dance Review: From Sex to Salvation, Not Without Introspection", The New York Times.
  59. Web site: Judith Jamison: Dancer and Choreographer . 2023-05-09 . Smithsonian Institution . en.
  60. https://ailey.org/our-people Our People. Alvin Ailey.
  61. Eyewitness News (November 22, 2024). Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater taps Alicia Graf Mack as new Artistic Director. WABC.
  62. https://ailey.org/blog/announcing-our-new-artistic-director ANNOUNCING OUR NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR.
  63. Web site: Reiter . Susan . December 17, 2019 . Alvin Ailey Honors Masazumi Chaya, Its Long-Standing Associate Artistic Director . Playbill.
  64. https://ailey.org/people/masazumi-chaya FORMER ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: MASAZUMI CHAYA
  65. News: Ailey II Names a New Artistic Director . The New York Times . September 2021 . Kourlas . Gia .
  66. Web site: Troy Powell, Artistic Director of Ailey II, Has Been Fired for Sexual Misconduct . . 20 July 2020 . Porter . Juan Michael II.
  67. Fantz, Ashley, and Casey Tolan and Alessandra Freitas (July 20, 2020). Alvin Ailey dance theater official fired after sexual misconduct allegations. CNN
  68. News: Kourlas . Gia . 2012-04-17 . The Guide and Spirit of Ailey II Steps Down . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-05-09 . 0362-4331.
  69. Web site: THE AILEY SCHOOL NAMES TRACY INMAN AND MELANIE PERSON AS CO-DIRECTORS . 2023-05-09 . www.dance.nyc . en.
  70. Fox, Margalit (July 20, 2010). "Denise Jefferson, 65, Director of the Ailey School, Is Dead", The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2010.
  71. Sulcas, Roslyn (June 2008). 50 & Fabulous. Town and Country.
  72. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/founders-2/ In Memoriam: Barbara Jonas, MSW, FAAN(h), FAANP(h) (1933-2018), Founder and Advisor to Jonas Philanthropies
  73. https://www.n-e-f.org/about-us/in-memoriam/barbara-lynn-jonas.html Barbara Lynn Jonas
  74. https://jonasphilanthropies.org/founders-2/ Donald Jonas, FAAN(h), FAANP(h) Founder and Advisor to Jonas Philanthropies
  75. https://ailey.org/repertory/revelations Revelations. "Funders: All performances of Revelations are permanently endowed by a generous gift from Donald L. Jonas in celebration of the birthday of his wife, Barbara, and her deep commitment to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater."
  76. https://pressroom.alvinailey.org/file/ailey-board-of-trustees-chairwoman-daria-l?action= Ailey Board of Trustees Chairwoman Daria L. Wallach and President Anthony S. Kendall. Photo by Pete Monsanto.
  77. https://ailey.org/our-people Our People
  78. https://www.vogue.com/article/janelle-monae-queen-latifah-modern-american-songbook Janelle Monáe, Queen Latifah, and More at the Alvin Ailey Opening Night Gala. November 30, 2017
  79. Branch, Alfred (Feb 10, 2017). Renowned Retired Advertising Executive Harold Levine, of Westport, Dies at 95. Patch -- Westport, CT.
  80. Kisselgoff, Anna (December 12, 1992). Review/Dance; An Ailey Tribute to Dizzy Gillespie. New York Times.
  81. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/23/arts/ailey-foundation-chief.html Ailey Foundation Chief
  82. Obituary (March 14, 1994). Ive Clarke, Dance Executive, 1978. New York Times.
  83. Obituaries (September 9,2024).Barbara Hauptman, Longtime Arts Maven, Dead at 78. The Rye Record.
  84. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/01/19/arts/change-at-ailey-foundation.html Change at Ailey Foundation
  85. Web site: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Foundation. Michael M.. Kaiser. 2005. Artsmanager . December 30, 2006 . https://web.archive.org/web/20061006040413/http://www.artsmanager.org/lessons/alvin_ailey.cfm . October 6, 2006 . dead . .
  86. Kaiser, Michael (February 1, 2002), "Winter Council 2002 Keynote Address", DanceUSA. .
  87. Auster, Bruce B. (March 2, 2003), "Turnaround Artist", U.S.News. .
  88. Press release (October 17, 2012).ALVIN AILEY DANCE FOUNDATION NAMES BENNETT RINK AS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Will Take the Helm of the Ailey Organization As Sharon Gersten Luckman Steps Down After 18 Years of Leadership In The Beginning of 2013. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
  89. Dance / NYC (January 25, 2012). Sharon Gersten Luckman, Executive Director of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, to Step Down in 2013.
  90. https://ailey.org/people/bennett-rink Executive Director: Bennett Rink
  91. https://ailey.org/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater Alvin Ailey Company Dancers
  92. https://encorespotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/STG%20spring%202018%20encore%20arts%20seattle.pdf Seattle Theatre Group
  93. https://www.ailey.org/ailey-ii Ailey II Dancers
  94. Ailey, Alvin, Ulysses Dove, Judith Jamison, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Danmarks radio, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, RM Arts (Firm), and Kultur International Films. 1990. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Directed by Thomas Grimm. West Long Branch, NJ: Kultur.
  95. https://www.loc.gov/exhibits/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater/exhibition-items.html#skip_menu Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: 50 Years Cultural Ambassador to the World Online Exhibition
  96. https://ailey.org/history#1962 Ailey History 1962: De Lavallade-Ailey American Dance Company
  97. http://astudioincoventgarden.blogspot.com/2013/05/alvin-aileys-revelations.html Alvin Ailey's Revelations. 1960 performance credits.
  98. Dunning, Jennifer (April 6, 1993). Gary DeLoatch, Leading Dancer With Ailey Troupe, Is Dead at 40. New York Times.
  99. Web site: (still image) Alvin Ailey and Nathaniel Horne compete for the affections of Minnie Marshall in this dance from Alvin Ailey's Blues Suite, (1958). Digital Collections, The New York Public Library . November 17, 2024 . The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
  100. Web site: (still image) Kenny Pearl and unidentified Alvin Ailey dancer performing in studio, (1972). Digital Collections, The New York Public Library . November 17, 2024 . The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
  101. https://famenetwork.com/pastbuzz/haroldperrineau.php Harold Perrineau Jr.
  102. https://whoswhoofprofessionalwomen.com/takako-asakawa-richards/ TAKAKO ASAKAWA RICHARDS. August 1, 2018
  103. https://www.si.edu/object/archives/components/sova-nmaahc-a2013-245-ref193 Revelations: Takako Asakawa, Hope Clarke, Lucinda Ransom, Joan Peters, Loretta Abbot (seated), 1964
  104. Web site: (still image) Ramon Segarra in the Alvin Ailey dance production Archipelago, (1971). Digital Collections, The New York Public Library . November 17, 2024 . The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations.
  105. https://www.linkedin.com/in/dwanasmallwood Dwana A. Smallwood
  106. Henry, Travis (April 13, 2016). Oprah Helps Alvin Ailey Dancer with Dream of a Lifetime. Black Youth Project.
  107. News: New York Times. James Truitte, 72, a dancer, teacher and historian, dies. Jennifer. Dunning. August 24, 1995.
  108. Web site: James Truitte . MOBBallet.org. 1 November 2019 . 3 September 2022.
  109. Sulcas, Roslyn (November 28, 2008). Remembering Alvin Ailey. New York Times.
  110. http://www.nea.gov/honors/medals/medalists_year.html#01 Lifetime Honors - National Medal of Arts
  111. Scott, Kenneth (June 15, 2014). In Loving Memory of my Mother, Myrna White-Russell (August 17, 1937 - May 27, 2014) ]
    • Richard Witter
    • Donna Wood
    • Sara Yarborough
    • Tina Yuan

    Awards and Honors

    • 1982: United Nations Peace Medal
    • 2001: National Medal of Arts, Judith Jamison and Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, the first dance organization to receive the honor.[110]
    • 2015: National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award, AileyCamp Miami, recognized by First Lady Michelle Obama
    • 2023: Outstanding Company and Best Modern Choreography (Kyle Abraham, Are You in Your Feelings?), 2023 National Dance Awards, UK Critics’ Circle
    • 2024: AileyDance for Active Aging received a resolution from the Newark Municipal Council for its contributions to the senior community in Newark, New Jersey.

    See also

    External links

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