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Judith Ann Jamison (; May 10, 1943 – November 9, 2024) was an American dancer and choreographer. She danced with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1965 to 1980 and was Ailey's muse. She later returned to be the company's artistic director from 1989 until 2011, and then its artistic director Emeritus. She received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1999, the National Medal of Arts in 2001, and the Handel Medallion, New York City's highest cultural honor, in 2010.
A few years later, Cuyjet began sending Jamison to other teachers to advance her dance education. She learned the Cecchetti method from Antony Tudor, founder of the Philadelphia Ballet Guild. She studied with Delores Brown Abelson, a graduate of Judimar who pursued a performance career in New York City before returning to Philadelphia to teach. Throughout high school, Jamison was also a member of numerous sports organizations, the Glee Club, and the Philadelphia String Ensemble. She studied Dalcroze Eurhythmics, a system that teaches rhythm through movement.
At the age of 17, Jamison graduated from Judimar; she began her collegiate studies at Fisk University. After three semesters there, she transferred to the Philadelphia Dance Academy (now the University of the Arts), where she studied dance with James Jamieson, Nadia Chilkovsky, and Yuri Gottschalk. In addition to her technique classes, she took courses in Labanotation, kinesiology, and other dance studies. During this time, she also learned the Horton technique from Joan Kerr, which required great strength, balance, and concentration.
In 1992, Jamison was inducted into Delta Sigma Theta sorority as an honorary member.
Jamison premiered with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater at Chicago's Harper Theater Dance Festival in 1965 in Congo Tango Palace; in 1966, she toured Europe and Africa with the company. Jamison had always had a strong interest in African identity; therefore, traveling to Africa with the company and having the opportunity to observe the culture first-hand was an exciting and valuable experience for her. Unfortunately, soon afterward, financial complications forced Ailey to put his company on a temporary hiatus. During this time, Jamison danced with Harkness Ballet and assisted the artistic director. However, she immediately returned to Alvin Ailey Dance Theater when the company re-formed in 1967. Jamison spent the next thirteen years dancing with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and was Ailey's muse. "A performer of great intelligence, warmth and wit," said The New York Times, Jamison learned over seventy ballets. "With Ailey's troupe, Jamison did many U.S. State Department tours of Europe, going behind the Iron Curtain as well as into Asia and Turkey. She danced quite a bit in Germany, which she said became her "second home". Throughout her performance career with the company, she danced in many of Ailey's most renowned works, including Blues Suite and Revelations.
On May 4, 1971, Jamison premiered the famous solo, Cry. Alvin Ailey choreographed this sixteen-minute dance as a birthday present for his mother, Lula Cooper, and later dedicated it to "all-black women everywhere, especially our mothers." The solo is intensely physical and emotionally draining to perform. It celebrates the journey of a woman coming out of a troubled and painful world and finding the strength to overcome and conquer. Jamison never ran the full piece from start to finish until the premiere. Cry became her signature piece."Judith Jamison." Britannica Academic, Encyclopædia Britannica, December 14, 2021. The piece and Jamison's performance received standing ovations and overwhelming critical acclaim at the premiere, rewarding Jamison with great fame and recognition throughout the dance world. Today, Cry remains a crowd favorite and is still featured in the company's repertoire.
Throughout her years with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, Jamison continued to perform worldwide. Along with her work with Ailey's company, she also appeared as a guest artist with the Cullberg Ballet, Swedish Royal Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and numerous other companies. Jamison danced alongside many renowned dancers, including the ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov, in a duet, Pas de Duke, choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1976. Finally, in 1980, she left Ailey's company to perform in the Broadway musical, Sophisticated Ladies. It was Jamison's first stage experience outside of concert dance, and she admitted it was initially very challenging for her. It was a completely different performance atmosphere and required various new skills.
For pop culture audiences she is best remembered by a guest appearance on a 1985 episode entitled 'Jitterbug Break'
Following a brief illness, Jamison died at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City on November 9, 2024. She was 81.
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