Who

Jamison is the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the former muse of the company's namesake.

Backstory

The Philadelphia native made her dance debut in New York in 1964 when she joined the American Ballet Theater. She decamped to Alvin Ailey's dance company a year later and soon became Ailey's favorite member of the troupe. He wrote his acclaimed 1971 work Cry specifically for Jamison, and the piece catapulted her to dance world stardom. Jamison spent much of the 1980s working on Broadway (notably in 1981's Sophisticated Ladies alongside Gregory Hines) and as a choreographer for various companies. Jamison returned to the company in 1988 when Ailey fell ill, taking over as artistic director in 1990 following her mentor's death. She's been a notoriously demanding presence in the studio ever since, ensuring the 30-member troupe of super-athletes churns out Ailey staples as well as newer works by choreographers like Ron K. Brown and Karole Armitage. She works in close conjunction with Ailey's executive director, Sharon Luckman.

Of note

Jamison (it's pronounced JAM-ih-son) may be best known for an achievement almost no other artistic director of a dance company can claim: She's attracted both cash and celebs. The company landed a $1 million grant from Oprah in 2004 and Jamison has lured the likes of Derek Jeter, Andre Leon Talley, Charlie Rose and Jesse Jackson to the company's annual galas at City Center. The best evidence of the company's fundraising success: the gleaming, 77,000-square-foot, $54 million Joan Weill Center for Dance on Ninth Ave—named after the Alvin Ailey board chair Joan Weill, the wife of Sandy Weill—where everyone from Bill T. Jones to Beyoncé has rehearsed. But it won't be up to Jamison to maintain the institution's prestige and financial soundness for much longer. She's announced that she'll retire in 2011.

In print

Her autobiography, Dancing Spirit, was published in 1993.

Personal

Jamison married fellow dancer Miguel Godreau in 1972; the marriage fell apart after just 9 months. She lives on the west side of Midtown.