Judith Jamison
Judith Jamison
Judith Ann Jamisonis an American dancer and choreographer, best known as the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDancer
Date of Birth10 May 1943
CityPhiladelphia, PA
CountryUnited States of America
life
I've had a really charmed life, you know. Things always come to me - they just do.
strive
Strive for perfection. Nobody's going to be perfect on this earth. But strive for perfection.
basement brought craft father growing house kid saw shine smelled smells steel tear wood
I smelled the same smells as a kid growing up in my little house in Philadelphia. My father used the basement as his craft shop. And when I smelled the wood and saw the shine of the stainless steel set, it brought a tear to my eye.
aunt block flock people seek somebody upstairs
I tell young people that people aren't just going to flock to you as your mentors. You have to seek them out. It could be your next-door neighbor; it could be somebody upstairs from you, somebody down the block from you. An aunt or an uncle. Some relative. A parent.
ask cost dream executive focus support
One couldn't ask for better support in an executive director. I am able to focus on what the dream can be, not how much the dream will cost me.
certain good major wake
You wake up white, and you think about certain things every day. You wake up black, and you think about certain things. You wake up Chinese, and you think certain things - but those things aren't major. What's major is that you are good at your craft.
episodes happen love mood piece relationships
It's a mood piece about love and relationship, like a slice- of life- pie at 2 a.m. with episodes that happen quickly.
born catch everybody felt street wondering
At 10, I could walk down the street and see over everybody's head. I don't remember being little or having to look up at people. I think I was born 5 feet 10. It's not that I felt especially tall. I was wondering when everybody else was going to catch up.
anybody kick kinds leg million stuff throwing tricks
We're dancing from here, from inside, not from outside. You could look at anybody throwing their leg and kick their leg up and a million pirouettes and do all kinds of tricks and stuff like that. But that's not what dance is really about.
freedom
You have to dance unencumbered. There's no other way to move. The idea of dance is freedom. It is not exclusiveness, it's inclusiveness.
dance aspiration never-ending
Dance is about never-ending aspiration.
dance
One you have danced, you always dance.
inspirational dance dancing
Dance is bigger than the physical body. When you extend your arm, it doesn't stop at the end of your fingers, because you're dancing bigger than that; you're dancing spirit.
dancer silence looks
If you look at a dancer in silence, his or her body will be the music. If you turn the music on, that body will become an extension of what you're hearing.