Sylvia Waters was personally selected by Alvin Ailey in 1974 as Artistic Director of Ailey II and led the company for 38 years. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Ms. Waters earned a B.S. in Dance prior to moving to Paris, where she appeared...
Tracy Inman is a native of Washington, D.C. and a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he majored in music. In 1981, he changed his artistic course from music to dance and moved to New York City where he was awarded a scholarship...
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 ...
Melanie Person began her early dance training in Jackson, Mississippi at age 6. Upon moving to Columbia, South Carolina a few years later, she continued her dance training at the Calvert-Brodie School of Dance while performing with the Columbia City...
Masazumi Chaya was born in Fukuoka, Japan, where he began his classical ballet training. Upon moving to New York in December 1970, he studied modern dance and performed with the Richard Englund Repertory Company. Mr. Chaya joined Alvin Ailey America
Judith Jamison joined Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1965 and quickly became an international star. Over the next 15 years, Mr. Ailey created some of his most enduring roles for her, most notably the tour-de-force solo Cry. During the 1970s...
Bennett Rink became Executive Director of Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation in January 2013. Prior to that time, Mr. Rink served the Ailey organization in a number of roles. He first joined Ailey as Manager of Special Events in 1994, became Development...
Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931 in Rogers, Texas. His experiences of life in the rural South would later inspire some of his most memorable works. At age 12, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, where he was introduced to dance by...
Born in Rogers, Texas on January 5, 1931, Alvin Ailey was introduced to dance by performances of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. His formal dance training began with an introduction to Lester Horton's...
Alvin Ailey was born on January 5, 1931 in Rogers, Texas, where he spent his formative years attending Sunday School and participating in the Baptist Young People’s Union. These pivotal experiences of life in the rural south would later inspire some of Ailey’s most memorable works, including his first ballet, Blues Suite, and the acclaimed masterpiece Revelations.