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
dance
One you have danced, you always dance.
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.
talking racism african-american
We can go on talking about racism and who treated whom badly, but what are you going to do about it? Are you going to wallow in that or are you going to create your own agenda?
dance giving people
People come to see beauty, and I dance to give it to them.
dancing people giving
Dancing is being trusted with other people's guts; choreographing is trusting other people with yours. When I choreograph I'm giving a dancer something to do and trusting the dancer to do it and build on it.
moving dark light
The first time I started choreographing was in the dark, in my living room, with the lights completely out, to some popular music on the radio. I put the radio on full blast and I started moving. I didn't know what it looked like. I didn't want to see it... I had to start in the dark.
dance thinking white
I can't really hear the audience applause when I'm on stage. I'm totally immersed in the piece. But sometimes I get a lot of it and wonder, "Now, why did they applaud here?" If it's a white crowd, they usually applaud because they think it's a pretty movement. If it's a black crowd, it's usually because they identify with the message.
want humans persons
I want to know who you are as a person, and then I want you to develop as a whole human being.
dance dancer threshold
Every dancer lives on the threshold of chucking it.
class ballet age
I was a protege; by the age of 10, I was studying with ballet choreographer Anthony Tudor in a class of adults.
commitment dedication years
Concert dance is the hardest kind of dance. We tour constantly, around the world, year in and year out. It just doesn't work for everybody. It's the lifestyle, it's the stamina, it's the love, it's the dedication, it's the commitment, it's all those words.
names games african-american
Excellence is the name of the game...
native-american african-american gone
I have been guilty of watching Westerns without acknowledging that Native Americans have gone through the same madness as African Americans. Isn't it extraordinary that sometimes the most offended have not seen others being offended?
breathing dancing
Dancing is a gift. You are supposed to do it; it's like breathing.