Nasha Thomas, National Director of AileyCamp/Arts In Education Spokesperson & Master Teacher

Ms. Thomas oversees national outreach and AileyCamps for Ailey’s Arts in Education & Community Programs department. As a primary liaison between Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation and the national arts-in-education community, she plays a central role in working with local communities to develop and run AileyCamps across the U.S., as well as managing national residencies, workshops, and master classes. A former principal dancer with the Ailey company (1986 to 1998) and former director of the Ailey Dancers Resource Fund, she is a 1980 recipient of the prestigious Presidential Scholar of the Arts award. Ms. Thomas is a graduate of New York’s High School of the Performing Arts and Southern Methodist University.

Featured News Releases

Summer of Inspiration: AileyCamp Empowers and Uplifts Local Youth in New York City and Newark During July-August in Six-Week Full Scholarship Program

(New York, NY) - June 27, 2024 – This year, AileyCamp celebrates 35 years of transforming the lives of nearly 1,000 youth annually across the country through dance, inspiring students to discover their unlimited potential. The two local programs will kick off their six-week summer sessions on July 1, 2024, in the Bronx, in collaboration with Children’s Aid Society, and in Newark, with New Jersey Performing Arts Center and Newark Public Schools.

AileyCamp Celebrates 35th Anniversary With "Excellence"

(New York, NY) – May 22, 2024 – This summer the nationally acclaimed AileyCamp program celebrates 35 years of positively impacting inner-city youth across America through the arts with a curriculum guided by the theme, “Excellence”. Founded in 1989 by Alvin Ailey and the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, AileyCamp is a testament to his vision of using dance to enrich young lives. AileyCamp – still accepting applications in select locations – helps students ages 11-14 reach for their unlimited potential in 10 cities nationwide: Baltimore, MD; Berkeley, CA; Chicago, IL; Kansas City, KS and MO; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Newark, NJ and Seattle, WA.

AileyCamp New York & Newark Return To The Stage For An Uplifting Joint Final Performance At NJPAC On Friday, August 13 at 7pm

New York, NY – August 6, 2021 – AileyCamp New York and AileyCamp Newark will return to the stage after two years for the first-ever joint final performance on Friday, August 13th at 7pm at New Jersey Performing Arts Center’s Victoria Theater. Entitled Unique, this special performance commemorates two special anniversaries, 30 years of AileyCamp New York and 10 years in Newark in an exceptional program that showcases the positive impact AileyCamp continues to have on the next generation.

Featured Press Coverage

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Portia - Alvin Ailey

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has graced stages across the world for 65 years. Portia discusses the history of dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey with the people who know him best. Nasha Thomas serves as the National Director of the AileyCamp and Amos Machanic Jr. teaches dance under the Ailey brand. The duo come to the table along with a few students from the AileyCamp to talk about the Alvin Ailey legacy.

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Dance Informa - Ailey Arts in Education & Community Programs Offers 'Revelations' Virtual Dance Workshop Series

Ailey Arts in Education & Community Programs has announced an inspiring new virtual series that expands available Remote Learning Activities for schools and organizations looking for alternatives to in-person dance classes and residencies, supplements to physical education offerings, or to provide an engaging extracurricular activity for students. Launching during Black History Month as Alvin Ailey’s signature American masterpiece Revelations marks six decades, Revelations Virtual Dance Workshop Series furthers Ailey’s mission of using dance to inspire, enlighten and entertain people of all backgrounds and ages.

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Atlanta Journal Constitution - Alvin Ailey 'Revelations' Comes To Fox

For 21 years former Alvin Ailey principal dancer Nasha Thomas has traveled to Atlanta with a singular mission. In an age when many public schools have gutted or cut back on their arts programs, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Thomas - in a long and important collaboration with the city - haven shown the value of art in individual lives. The founder of the renowned New York City-based Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey, who died in 1989, was an advocate for the importance of arts education and believed that bringing the arts to underprivileged communities and to public schools was vital.