Press Coverage

November 05, 2018

New York Amsterdam News - Ailey Celebrates 60th Anniversary By Nurturing New Talent

Sixty years in the life of any company is an accomplishment, but in the life of a Black dance company, it is a triumph against tremendous odds, especially when that company first came into existence during the racial unrest characterized by this country’s tumultuous civil rights era. Therefore, it is noteworthy that as part of the Ailey Ascending 60th anniversary celebration, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Artistic Director Robert Battle has created the Choreography Unlocked Festival, honor this company’s founder and it’s remarkable accomplishment by also nurturing new talent with performances, conversations and master classes that will take place at Ailey’s home across two weekends—Oct. 12 to Oct. 14 and Oct. 26 to Oct. 28.

October 19, 2018

Dance Teacher - Why Study Horton

A dancer discovers the satisfactions of learning the famously demanding technique. Ana Marie Forsythe's eyes twinkle, and a smile plays at the corners of her mouth as she welcomes the 40-plus teachers who are enrolled for her two-week-long Horton teacher-training workshop at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater studios in New York City - plus me, a dancer and writer, taking part for the day.

September 24, 2018

Wall Street Journal - Alvin Ailey's Muse Tells A Young Artist What It's Like To Dance In Her Shoes

The dance legend who inspired some of Alvin Ailey's most iconic choreography is guiding a rising star to follow her actual footsteps. Judith Jamison met Ailey in a stairwell after bombing an audition in 1965, when she was 22. But that first misstep leg to a 50-year career after Ailey invited her to join his new Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, which was showcasing black modern dancers just as the civil rights movement was also hitting its stride.

September 17, 2018

New York Magazine "Vulture" - I Tried Auditioning For A Renowned New York City Dance Company

In Vulture’s video series, The Deep End, our video producer Madison Mills finds out how hard it is to make it inNew York by trying various careers she has no experience with whatsoever. What does it take to make it as a dancer in New York? I have no...

September 17, 2018

Fox 5 - Where'd You Get That? Good Day New York's Christal Young Visits The Ailey Extension

Good Day NY's Christal Young tries a variety of dance classes offered at the Ailey Extension, including Horton, Hip-Hop, African and Vogue.

September 17, 2018

Dance Magazine - Choreography Unlocked

Ailey launches a new festival focused on the choreographic process. Coming this fall to the ever-expanding Ailey organization is an intriguing new event: the Choreography Unlocked festival. From Oct. 12-14 and 26-28, the Joan Weill Center for Dance will host workshops, performances and panel discussions. It is an extension of Ailey's New Directions Choreography Lab, an annual residency fellowship for four emerging and mid-career choreographers, founded by artistic director Robert Battle in 2011.

September 16, 2018

The New York Times - A Life and Legacy of Inspiration

Ailey celebrates its 60th anniversary season with plenty of Ailey classics, along with some enticing premieres: "Lazarus," a two-act work by the powerful hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris, is inspired by the life and legacy of Ailey and by racial inequities faced in 1958 and today. The other is by the great contemporary choreographer Ronald K. Brown, who mixes modern and African dance in "The Call." The season also includes a new production of Robert Battle's "Juba," his first dance for the company, from 2003...

September 10, 2018

Amanpour & Company - Robert Battle

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was born out of the civil rights movement and has continued celebrating the African American experience for 60 years. Hard Sreenivasan sits down with its artistic director, Robert Battle.

September 09, 2018

BET - Black Girls Rock!

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Performances and Speeches at 2018 BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Watch Judith Jamison speak on the purpose of dance, Judith Jamison's acceptance speech and her own take on black girl magic, and Jacqueline Green perform Judith Jamison's iconic solo "Cry" featuring vocals by Yolanda Adams.

September 06, 2018

CBS Miami - Mentoring Matters: Former AileyCamp Dancer Happily Giving Back To Younger Students

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Standing on the stage where she first learned how to dance, 17-year old Dymon Smith softly describes her passion for the arts. “I found my heart in dance. It’s been my breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. I can’t imagine my life without it,” she said. Smith is a student at the New World School of the Arts but it was on this stage where she voluntarily spent six weeks of her summer mentoring and training younger dancers at AileyCamp Miami. Just a few years ago, Dymon was an Ailey camper. She was 10-years old when she was introduced to the power of dance.