| Born the younger of
two children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Jamison studied piano and violin as a
child. Tall by the age of six, Jamison was enrolled in dance classes by
her parents in an effort to complement her exceptional height with grace.
She received most of her early dance training in classical ballet with
master teachers Marion Cuyjet, Delores Brown, and John Jones at the
Judimar School of Dance. Jamison decided on a career in dance only after
three semesters of coursework in psychology at Fisk University, and she
completed her education at the Philadelphia Dance Academy. In 1964 she was
spotted by choreographer Agnes de Mille and invited to appear in de
Mille's "The Four Marys" at the New York-based American Ballet
Theatre. Jamison moved to New York in 1965 and that same year joined the
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT).
Jamison performed with AAADT on tours of Europe and Africa in 1966.
When financial pressures forced Ailey to briefly disband his company later
that year, Jamison joined the Harkness Ballet for several months and then
returned to the re-formed AAADT in 1967. She quickly became a principal
dancer with that company, dancing a variety of roles that showcased her
pliant technique, stunning beauty, and exceptional stature of five feet,
ten inches. Jamison excelled as the goddess Erzulie in Geoffrey Holder's
"The Prodigal Prince" (1967), as the Mother in a revised version of
Ailey's "Knoxville: Summer of 1915" (1968), and as the Sun in the
1968 AAADT revival of Lucas Hoving's "Icarus." These larger-than-life
roles fit neatly with Jamison's regal bearing and highly responsive
emotional center, and critics praised her finely drawn dance
interpretations that were imbued with power and grace. Jamison's and
Ailey's collaboration deepened, and she created a brilliant solo in his
"Masekela Language" (1969). Set to music of South African trumpeter
Hugh Masekela, Jamison portrayed a frustrated and solitary woman dancing
in a seedy saloon. Her electrifying performances of Ailey's 15-minute
solo "Cry" (1971) propelled her to an international stardom
unprecedented among modern dance artists. Dedicated by Ailey "to all black
women everywhere -- especially our mothers," the three sections of
"Cry" successfully captured a broad range of movements, emotions, and
images associated with black womanhood as mother, sister, lover, goddess,
supplicant, confessor, and dancer.
In 1976 Jamison danced with ballet star Mikhail Baryshnikov in Ailey's
"Pas de Duke" set to music by Duke Ellington. This duet emphasized
the classical line behind Jamison's compelling modern dance technique and
garnered her scores of new fans. Jamison's celebrity advanced, and she
appeared as a guest artist with the San Francisco Ballet, the Swedish
Royal Ballet, the Cullberg Ballet, and the Vienna State Ballet. In 1977
she created the role of Potiphar's Wife in John Neumeier's
"Josephslegende" for the Vienna State Opera, and in 1978 she appeared
in Maurice Béjart's updated version of "Le Spectre de la Rose" with
the Ballet of the Twentieth Century. Several choreographers sought to work
with Jamison as a solo artist, and important collaborations included John
Parks' "Nubian Lady" (1972), John Butler's "Facets" (1976), and
Ulysses Dove's "Inside" (1980).
In 1980 Jamison left the Ailey company to star in the Broadway musical
"Sophisticated Ladies," set to the music of Duke Ellington. She later
turned her formidable talent to choreography, where her work has been
marked by a detached sensuality and intensive responses to rhythm. Jamison
founded her own dance company, the Jamison Project, "to explore the
opportunities of getting a group of dancers together, for both my
choreography [and] to commission works from others." Alvin Ailey's failing
health caused Jamison to rejoin the AAADT as artistic associate for the
1988-1989 season. In December 1989 Ailey died, and Jamison was named
artistic director of the company. She has continued to choreograph, and
her ballets include "Divining" (1984), "Forgotten Time" (1989),
and "Hymn" (1993), all performed by the AAADT.
Jamison has received numerous awards and honors, including a
Presidential Appointment to the National Council of the Arts, the 1972
DANCE MAGAZINE Award, and the Candace Award from the National Coalition of
One Hundred Black Women. Her greatest achievement as a dancer was an
inspiring ability to seem supremely human and emotive within an elastic
and powerful dance technique.
-- Thomas F. DeFrantz
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