Women's History Wednesday Profile: Judith Jamison

Humble but Meaningful Beginnings

Judith Jamison was born in 1943. Despite growing up in Philadelphia during the 1950’s and 1960’s, Jamison reflects that she never felt less than, “I was protected from degradation,” stated Jamison. Even in the presence of racism at the expense of her and her brother, her parents did not allow their children to internalize that hate, “ … they’d acknowledge that this wasn’t who we really were.”Jamison remarked that she was a composite of the layers and complications she witnessed through her parents. Arguing one moment and dancing together the next. Her mother, a woman who would hold back no words, but would often recite Shakespeare to Judith and her brother. Her father, a man with enough grace to sing opera and play classical piano, while working as a sheet-metal mechanic and carpenter to provide for his family. That is the root of Jamison’s success and ability to tell a story through dance, “I danced the way I danced because of all those opposites and what was in the middle - the love my family had for each other.”

Jamison had her first performance at the age of six. Although she was scared at first, the applause of that first crowd sealed her fate, “I remember being blinded up on stage, the curtain going up, going down and people applauding. That did it. I loved dance.” Jamison, even at 6, stood out as an exemplar dancer. At the Marion Cuyjet’s Judimar School of Dance, Jamison was the talk of the town, or at least her first teacher’s dinner table, “I was so excited by her that all my husband and I talked about on Saturday nights, the only night I had dinner home, was Judi. ‘Did you see that? Did you see her extension?’ Judi. Judi. Judi.” Describe as tall, lean and long-legged, the young Judi was a standout.

Halfway through her education at Fisk University, Jamison decided to enroll at Philadelphia Dance Academy. Her passion for dance was further satiated after she witnessed Alvin Ailey and Minnie Marshall perform. Seeing these black dancers excel, Jamison was convinced that she too, could be a dancer.

Professional Career

In 1964, Jamison was invited to join the American ballet Company, making an appearance in The Four Marys. At the conclusion of the show, Jamison opted to stay in New York. She got a job operating the Log Flume ride at the World’s Fair in Queens. It was during this time that a failed audition irrevocably changed her life, and her legacy.

Judith Jamison went on an audition for Donald “Donnie” McKayle. “I failed that audition ‘cause I was really bad. I hadn’t danced for three months,” recalls Jamison. “As I was leaving the building, there was a man sitting on the steps. I was so upset I walked past him … three days later that man that I passed on the steps called me …” That man was Alvin Ailey and he invited Judith to join the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (AADT). Despite Jamison being out of shape and not performing at her best, Ailey was intrigued, “I decided to find out who she was.” After that call, Jamison learned 8 pieces in two weeks time and hit the road, now a dancer for Ailey.

The gig was not without its hardships. Money would run out and everybody was learning the business together, “Back then we were literally flying by the seat of our pants, said jamison. However, jamison committed in Ailey’s vision with the same blind faith that allowed Ailey to see something in her, “ I always had great faith in Alvin.” She describes her time with Ailey as spiritual. Ailey was committed to everyone he worked with, he wanted to know his dancers - and for them to know themselves - as people. That way, he felt, “we’d have something to say to the world about what it is to be human” described Jamison.

Cry

It was his ability to make a personal connection to choreography and storytelling that made Alvin ailey successful. One of his most famous works is “Cry”, and he selected Judith to convey his message. Through Jamison, Ailey told a story to honor black women, and to honor his mother in particular. At the time, Judith had no idea what message she was conveying, “When I learned ‘Cry’, I was learning the steps. I read in the program the next day what the dance was about.”

In addition, Jamison shared that everything from the final music to her wardrobe came down to the wire. Despite the challenges, Jamison remembers the applause after that first performance. After a 16 minute solo, the crowd erupted with cheers. For another eight years, Judith was the premiere dance for AADT.

Choreography

Jamison and Gregory Hines share a moment on stage (USA Today)

In 1980, Jamison hit Broadway to star in Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies with Gregory Hines, the show also featured singer Phyllis Hyman. After her appearance on Broadway, Jamison began to focus on choreography. She began The Jamison Project in the late 1980’s. Shortly after the project’s first show, Jamison took over as Artistic Associate at AADT. By the next year, just prior to Ailey’s death, Judith took over as Artistic Director. Jamison has 13 choreography credits to her name, as well as the successful transition of the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre to the premiere company it is today. In the process, Judith has won several accolades, including an Emmy for the 1999 PBS documentary, “A Hymn for Alvin Ailey”.

Although her awards may be in her name, Jamison is clear to whom the credit is due, “I’m standing on Alvin’s shoulders. The horizons become broader. He was an individual. However, we shared the same spiritual traditions. That’s why I stayed with the company for fifteen years: we were walking the same path, that’s why we had such a special connection.”

For 21 years, she lead the AADT. In an interview for “Makers”, she reflected that women in charge was not something that happened often, or at least, nobody spoke about it, “There were some iconic women running things but it’s … very difficult for women to be in those positions for some unknown reason.” Jamison took pride not in being the only dance company run by a woman, but the largest dance company run by a woman.

Jamison humorously noted that while Alvin Ailey left the company in the hands of all women, she left the company in the hands of an all-male leadership team. The Artistic Director Emerita is likely the only other person (outside of Alvin Ailey) who will leave an unfading mark on the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre. She has inspired a generation of dancers and choreographers to carry the messages that her father, her mother and Alvin Ailey taught her, “A good performance on stage should take the audience on a journey where they learn something about themselves. It’s about all of us. It’s about reaching for perfection, and, most of all, it’s about honesty. I believe that to be good, as my father instructed, we must be true to ourselves.”

Quotes taken from Stanford Humanities Center and WAG Magazine, unless otherwise specified

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