BYE BYE JUDITH

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater celebrates with Judith Jamison’s farewell performance closing the season on Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Continuing the celebration of five decades of Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, an American classic called a must-see for all people, the Grammy Award-winning Sweet Honey In The Rock will bring their soulful harmonies and intricate rhythms to “Revelations” on New Year’s Eve.

In an exciting finish to the season, a Judith Jamison Farewell Program on Jan. 2 will pay tribute to Ailey’s leading woman with surprise guest artists and a one-night-only program highlighting a variety of much-loved works, including David Parson’s gravity-defying, strobe-lit showstopper “Caught” in its entirety.

Choreographers George Faison, Camille A. Brown and Ronald K. Brown will make special guest appearances in excerpts of their works, performing alongside Ailey’s extraordinary dancers. Notable former Company members Elizabeth Roxas-Dobrish, Toni Pierce-Sands, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Nasha Thomas-Schmitt, and Alicia Graf Mack will return to the New York City Center stage to join this celebration. (see program and casting details below).

For over two decades, Judith Jamison has been artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, leading the Company to new heights around the world and into a permanent home – the nation’s largest building dedicated to dance. Named to TIME’s 2009 list of the world’s 100 most influential people, Ms. Jamison is the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors, the BET Honors, and the National Medal of Arts. In 2010, she was honored by First Lady Michelle Obama at the first White House Dance Series: A Tribute to Judith Jamison; received the 2010 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s prestigious Phoenix Award, The NYC Handel Medallion (the city’s highest official honor) and the 2010 National Award for Citizen Diplomacy.

Throughout the season, Ailey’s extraordinary artists will move audiences with a diverse repertory that represents 23 ballets by 15 choreographers, inspiring all in a universal celebration of the human spirit, using the African-American cultural experience and the American modern dance tradition. Share in the incomparable sense of joy, freedom, and spirit that bring audiences around the globe to their feet night after night – you don’t just see an Ailey performance, you feel it!

For further information on tickets and performance schedule, visit: www.alvinailey.org