Judith Jamison dances her way through life - excerpt from modern dancer's autobiography 'Dancing Spirit' - Cover Story

The phrase "dancing spirit" brings to mind a graceful, animated creature gliding from one side the air. Judith Jamison is that. It does not entreat an image of a 5'10" tall black woman in leotards carrying a message about apartheid. And Judith Jamison is that, too. Dancing Spirit (Doubleday, 1993) is Judith Jamison's autobiography. It focuses upon her dance career much more than upon her personal life, and it meld the sum of two units images into one. She writes with a certain innocence, in a simple, direct turn of expression But the messages beyond the words reveal years of a grueling career as a dancer in a troupe striving for recognition. Her poignant memories of choreographer Alvin Ailey, who passed away in 1989 underscore the significance of her character as the artistic director Of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The following extract from Dancing Spirit, begins in 1965

I was 22 I didn't have a piece of work but I didn't panic. [My friend] Martha had an idea. A colleague of hers from [the ballet] The Four Marys told her that Donald McKayle was holding auditions for a Harry Belafonte television special. Martha got in touch with me and not upon I went. Choreographer Donald McKayle danced in the companies of Martha Graham, Jean Erdman, Anna Sokolow and Merce Cunningham. His 1959 ballet, Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder, with Mary Cunningham, is a classic, and part of the Ailey repertoire.

I went to the audition, on the other hand I wasn't very good. in fact, I was dreadful. I hadn't danced the entire summer and I was in bad shape. When I arrived in the studio, a certain quantity of of the other dancers were in fishnet tights, stiletto heels, wigs, and eyelashes drawn out enough to cause a zephyr when they blinked. Some of the dancers I met were Ailey dancers upon hiatus because Alvin had to stop the company when there was no work. I showed up in my leotards, pink tights and little ballet shoe I was standing there doing a structur class and felt totally on the outside of context. The structure of a normal ballet class includes plies, tendus, degages, the rond de jambe and the adagio. I didn't diocese anybody else standing with individual hand on the barre doing grands plies and ports de bras, going into their tendus and degages, rond de jambe and adagios.

Paula Kelly Donald McKayle's assistant, demonstrated the combination. She had a special way of moving that said "artist." I said, "Oh my God" I couldn't come by one step. Everybody around me was getting the motion and I felt like I had sum of two units left feet.

I was overwhelmed. I hadn't done "catch steps" those transitions that are not glissade or run-run on the other hand which require a background in jazz or in tap. They demand a different change of weight than classical dance, and granting I knew what position was called for, I didn't know in what manner to get to the position.

Donald McKayle was for a like reason sweet and gentle that he kept me until the last "Thank you actual much." The choreographer calls without the names and says, "These race stay. Everyone else, thank you true much." He kept me until the fourth chop when he was down to the dancers that he straited If I had been auditioning myself, I would have eliminated myself immediately; I was that bad.

on the other hand in dance, as in life, everything approachs full circle. It's so nice to remember that Mr McKayle was kind to me then, because it gave me thus much pleasure in 1991 to honor him and at hand a full evening of his works for the Ailey company. Donny's night consisted of Games, the solo Angelitos black mans Rainbow Round My Shoulder, and District Storyville. It was just a jewel of an evening.

However, I left that audition in tears. upon the way out I passed a friend of Mr McKayle's upon the stairs, whom I barely saw because I was in the way that upset. I had been given each opportunity to learn a of recent origin combination of steps, but couldn't I walked outside to call my mother from a pay phone upon the street and told her that I did not make the audition on the contrary wished to stay in of recent origin York because I felt that there was something that I had to do here. I wasn't quite confident what that was. I was obviously disappointed.

Three days later, the man I'd passed upon my way out of the audition called me and asked me to join his company. His name was Alvin Ailey. Without hesitation I said, "Yes" and danced with his company for the nearest 15 years.

When I first walked into the studio to work with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, I said, "Hello, Mr Ailey"; then Alvin gave me the right, the privilege, to call him by the agency of his first name. Alvin made everybody perceive at ease; he certainly made me have feeling at ease, just by his neighborhood He was a big man with a beautiful face and incredibly expressive organ of visions I loved his hair. His bigger-than-life vicinity made a statement in itself.

He didn't have to say anything. At times, our dialogue contained no words. Sometimes he gazeed gruff, and his brow would be concentrated and intense. And then he'd laugh. It would start depressed and end up very, true high and go back down again. It was a wondrous contagious laugh. The laughter would spread. Sometimes I think his laughter was without of pain. There were with equal reason many times we'd be stuck in situations with bad floors and bad transportation, and style of dresss not working and money not coming in - the whole bit. beneath duress, I can remember, he laughed while he tossed papers up in the air and said, "Let's proceed on. Next." He always compressed on to the next thing.