The Professional Division offers post-secondary, full-time programs that take a conservatory approach to dance training for ages 17-25.
NEW YORK, NY, October 19, 2017 — At a festive ribbon-cutting, celebrated on the evening of October 18, leaders of the Ailey organization joined with dancers, students, donors, and friends from New York City’s dance community to open The Elaine Wynn & Family Education Wing, a 10,000-square-foot expansion of Ailey’s permanent home, The Joan Weill Center for Dance.
The story took flight with a chance encounter at the 60th Street post office in Manhattan. It was the mid-'90s and Denise Jefferson, then head of The Ailey School, and Edward Bristow, then dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, would often bump into each other in the neighborhood. At that point, both schools were already looking for ways to expand their relationship, and Jefferson had previously floated the idea of starting a BFA program. While standing in line to buy stamps, Bristow says, their friendly chitchat set in motion an idea to form a planning committee tasked with creating a BFA program that would change the lives of scores of young dancers.
First-year Ailey II member Hannah Alissa Richardson will join, the celebrated second company to Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, as they return to their home, The Ailey Citigroup Theater, for a highly anticipated two-week season featuring 10 performances from March 23 to April 3. In the first New York Season led by Artistic Director Francesca Harper, the gifted 12-member ensemble will showcase their artistry in three programs featuring premieres and returning favorites: Dichotomous, New Lens and Pulse, as well as the special celebrating Robert Battle's 10th anniversary program paying homage to his visionary leadership and Ailey journey, which began in 1999 choreographing Mood Indigo for the second company. Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Hannah Alissa Richardson about her career and the upcoming performances by Ailey II.
For years, young dancers fresh out of high school who wanted to continue their training were faced with a choice: Join a trainee program or enroll as a dance major at a four-year university. Nowadays, the options are vast, ranging from one-year postgraduate training programs and second company positions to unique partnerships between lauded dance academies and colleges. As attitudes around dancers going to college have shifted, aspiring professionals now have a host of paths to choose from.
