Judith Jamison
Judith Jamison
Judith Ann Jamisonis an American dancer and choreographer, best known as the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDancer
Date of Birth10 May 1943
CityPhiladelphia, PA
CountryUnited States of America
evolve interested time
I was only interested in the look, not the time of day. And how things would evolve for the young people.
arts ballet church enthusiasm evolved gave lessons life since worked
Since babyhood, I've always evolved from one thing to another. My mother gave me ballet lessons at 6 as part of her enthusiasm for the arts and for life. We went to museums, to the theater. While her own talent was untapped, she worked for church causes.
anyone companies dancers leeway pickup possible project rather taste
My idea for the Jamison Project was rather like a pickup company. The idea was to give the dancers a taste of the menu. Today, dancers need to try as many companies as possible without having a drop-dead loyalty to me or anyone else. They like to have the leeway to go their own way.
aunt block flock people seek somebody upstairs
I tell young people that people aren't just going to flock to you as your mentors. You have to seek them out. It could be your next-door neighbor; it could be somebody upstairs from you, somebody down the block from you. An aunt or an uncle. Some relative. A parent.
audition donald harry twenties
I went to an audition for a Harry Belafonte Roaring Twenties special for choreographer Donald McKayle, but I failed.
best maybe
Maybe it's a generational thing, but I never wanted to be the best black dancer in the world. I just wanted to be the best.
anybody asked jackie life talk wonderful
My wonderful editor, Jackie Onassis, asked me to write a book that I wanted to write. I said, 'Look, it's not going to be scandalized. I'm not going to talk about anybody like a dog. I'm going to say the positiveness of my life, and talk about those who have contributed to the way I've been going, and that's that.'
anybody kick kinds leg million stuff throwing tricks
We're dancing from here, from inside, not from outside. You could look at anybody throwing their leg and kick their leg up and a million pirouettes and do all kinds of tricks and stuff like that. But that's not what dance is really about.
bigger extend physical
Dancing is bigger than the physical body. Think bigger than that. When you extend your arm, it doesn't stop at the end of your fingers, because you're dancing bigger than that. You're dancing spirit.
Dancers use their bodies in extraordinary ways, so we are chronically pre-arthritic, because of how we use our muscles and our bones.
life
I've had a really charmed life, you know. Things always come to me - they just do.
strive
Strive for perfection. Nobody's going to be perfect on this earth. But strive for perfection.
born catch everybody felt street wondering
At 10, I could walk down the street and see over everybody's head. I don't remember being little or having to look up at people. I think I was born 5 feet 10. It's not that I felt especially tall. I was wondering when everybody else was going to catch up.
full people
The world is full of ways for people to dance. Concert dance doesn't get its due.