Alicia Graf Mack

1 2 3 4
Showing 21 – 30 of 33 Items
The New York Times - It’s About Connections’: Alicia Graf Mack Remakes Juilliard Dance

The New York Times - It’s About Connections’: Alicia Graf Mack Remakes Juilliard Dance

Mack, whom one student called an agent of change, wants to “create a place where people feel like themselves” — and a model for the professional world. When Alicia Graf Mack taught the final ballet class for students graduating in spring from the dance division of Juilliard, it was a gentle, valedictory session: a lot of laughter, inside jokes and memories, a few tears. She’s a warm, gracious teacher who sometimes calls herself Mama Mack, and she got a little teary herself.

Harper's Bazaar - Jon Batiste and Alicia Graf Mack Want the Truth

Harper's Bazaar - Jon Batiste and Alicia Graf Mack Want the Truth

In 2018, Alicia Graf Mack joined the Juilliard School as director of the conservatory’s dance department, the first woman of color to lead the division. During her tenure, the school has done away with gendered ballet classes and expanded the canon of music taught in its history and theory courses to include more works by composers of color.

Cosmopolitan - Get That Life: How I Became a Professional Ballerina

Cosmopolitan - Get That Life: How I Became a Professional Ballerina

Alicia Graf Mack became a professional ballerina at 17, had her face on the front of the Kennedy Center by 19, and thought her career was over at 21. She shares her story of bouncing back from catastrophic injury, living with arthritis as a dancer, and relentlessly following her dreams.

Baltimore Sun - Dancing star Alicia Graf Mack Comes Home to Celebrate Theatre's 30th

Baltimore Sun - Dancing star Alicia Graf Mack Comes Home to Celebrate Theatre's 30th

On paper, there are a number of reasons why Alicia Graf Mack shouldn't be a successful dancer. She's 6-foot-2 on her tiptoes, making it harder to find male partners tall enough for her. She's biracial, growing up in a time when African-American ballerinas are few. And she's suffered multiple injuries of the career ending variety.

New York Post - How Mack Got Her Groove Back

New York Post - How Mack Got Her Groove Back

Even if you haven't been to an Alvin Ailey performance, chances are you've seen Alicia Graf Mack: Her photos, with one leg reaaching skyward, is plastered on posters all over the city.

Good Housekeeping - She Inspires Me: Alicia Graf Mack

Good Housekeeping - She Inspires Me: Alicia Graf Mack

"In July 2008, I suffered what I thought was a career-ending injury - a cartilage tear in my knee," says Alicia, who's danced with Alcin Ailey since 2005. "I was devastated. But my mom reassured me that whether or not I came back as a dancer, anything I decided to do next would be brilliant."

Dance Magazine - Q&A: Alicia Graf Mack, The Striking Ailey Star Returns to the Company

Dance Magazine - Q&A: Alicia Graf Mack, The Striking Ailey Star Returns to the Company

For a dancer who seems to have all of the natural facility in the world, Alicia Graf Mack has had a surprisingly difficult career. She spent three years as a Dance Theatre of Harlem ballerina, until she was sidelined by injury. She then attended Columbia University and six years later found her way back to the stage, joining Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 2005.

1 2 3 4
Showing 21 – 30 of 33 Items