Artistic Director, Alicia Graf Mack speaks to Good Day New York about her inaugural season with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at New York City Center. Ailey dancer, Yannick Lebrun performs Alvin Ailey’s A Song for You, in anticipation of the season.
On Wednesday evening, hundreds of dance-lovers and patrons of the arts made their way to the New York City Center theater on West 55th Street for the Alvin Ailey Opening Night Gala—helping to kick off Alicia Graf Mack’s inaugural season as artistic director in style.
On a recent Monday evening at the Manhattan headquarters of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, rehearsal for Revelations had the camaraderie of a reunion. A drum set rumbled in the corner. Vocalists settled into their chairs, sheet music and iPads in hand. The late choreographer’s canonical 1960 work, set to song-sermons and gospel, is typically performed with live music at the start of the company’s annual residency at New York City Center, and the artists were finally back in one room to prepare for opening night on December 3. The musical director cued the spiritual “Wade in the Water”—an evocation of Ailey’s boyhood baptism in a church pond in rural Texas—and the dancers began a procession with undulating torsos. “Rocka My Soul” brought out a flurry of yellow rattan fans, in homage to humid Sunday services, which sent a palpable breeze to the observers seated in front-row folding chairs.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s highly anticipated season at New York City Center is from December 3 – January 4, 2026. This year highlights the inaugural season of Artistic Director and former Ailey dancer, Alicia Graf Mack.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's holiday performances begin in about three weeks, with a new artistic director leading the way. Alicia Graf Mack fills the giant shoes of the late great Judith Jamison. Mack was once a principal dancer under Jamison. She talked to Eyewitness News about her new role, which she calls a full-circle moment, and her vision for the future of the treasured theater.
The famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has a new leader. Alicia Graf Mack is only the fourth artistic director of the groundbreaking dance company.
Uplifting Black voices, experiences, and successes have been at the core of EBONY’s legacy for 80 years. This year, as EBONY celebrates eight decades of dedication to the Black community, the 2025 Power 100 List continues that tradition by honoring Black artists, community crusaders, and leaders across industries.
Last November, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater announced that Alicia Graf Mack would become its next artistic director. Graf Mack’s trajectory seems to have prepared her for this role. During a brilliant career as a dancer with both Dance Theatre of Harlem and Ailey, she acquired two academic degrees on the side, in history and arts management. After retiring from the stage, she went on to become the director of The Juilliard School’s Dance Division, where she has spent the last seven years thoughtfully expanding the august academy’s approach to dance training. Now, she will be returning to Ailey, where her term as artistic director begins on July 1. She will be only the fourth person to hold the position, after Ailey himself, his chosen successor, Judith Jamison, and the choreographer Robert Battle.
Alicia Graf Mack has been entrusted with carrying the torch of ballet and modern dance into the future. As a dancer, she has battled through adversity to perform alongside artists like Beyoncé, John Legend and Andre 3000. As a teacher, she has helped bridge the past into the future, educating new generations of students.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has chosen Alicia Graf Mack to be its next artistic director, it announced on Thursday. A former member of the company, Mack, 45, currently the director of the dance division at Juilliard, will take on her new role in July.