Key Dates- Important people in the company Flashcards
1943
Judith Jamison was born at an intense time. The colour of her skin influenced of her skin influenced her career and there was a lot of racial segregation.
1944
Ailey watched Katherine Dunham’s Tropical Revue in LA and Saw African-American dancers on stage. She became a huge influence to Ailey’s Works.
1953
Lester Horton died of a heart attack
1953
Ailey became resident choreographer of Lester Horton Dance Theatre
Mid 1960s
Ailey had started to withdraw himself from dancing
1964
AAADT toured Europe. Contemporary dance had not been explored here before and was a new experience for the audiences. The critics were especially impressed with the male dancers.
1963
Dudley Williams (a Graham dancer) joined the company
1965
Judith Jamison joins the company after Ailey first saw her audition.
1965
Judith Jamison was spotted by Agnes De Mille who wisked her away from her psychology degree to perform in ‘The Four Mary’s’ presented by American Ballet Theatre in 1965
1965
Ailey officially ends his career as a performer at age 33 whilst on tour in Italy
1954-1968
Civil Rights Movement
1954- US Supreme Court struck down ‘separate but equal’
1965- Voting Rights Act
1968- Civil Rights Act
1970 (premises)
AAADT and Pearl Lang’s dance company share rehearsal space whilst Ailey and Lang co-direct their own school, the American Dance Centre
1970
Jamison became Ballet Master overseeing rehearsals with Dudley Williams
1970 (dancers)
Clive Thompson joined AAADT having danced with Graham for 10 years. He felt Ailey made it legitimate for a black dancer to say “I am a dancer”
1972
Masajumi Chaya joined the AAADT as a dancer.
1970s (education)
Universities are now having a small % of black students. This shows a decrease in segregation.
1973
Ulysses Dove joined the company.
1973 (world)
Vietnamese war ends
1976
Ailey collaborated with Duke Ellington on ‘Pas De Duke’ to celebrate both Ellington and jazz music.
1980 (AAADT)
Dudley Williams, Masasumi Chaya and Judith Jamison kept AAADT going during Ailey’s absence due to the onset of Ailey’s absence.
1980 (other companies)
Mikhail Baryshnikov became artistic director of American Ballet Theatre
1981 (Dancers)
Jamison leaves AAADT to perform in ‘Sophisticated Ladies’ on Broadway
Early 1980s
Renee Robinson joined the company
1980s (other companies)
Dance Theatre of Harlem performed Giselle, Firebird, Creole, Agon and Dougla.
1983
AAADT celebrates 25th year anniversary
1985
AAADT is the first modern dance company to go on a government sponsored tour of the Republic of China since the normalisation of sion-american relations.
1988
Judith Jamison becomes Guest Artistic Director
1989 (key figures)
Judith Jamison became artistic director after Ailey died. She had been a part of the company since 1965 and so was familiar with the way that the company ran and the direction it needed to go.
1989 (rep)
Ailey took ‘Episodes’ by Dove in to the company repertoire.This gave audiences an insight into what dance would be like in the next century.
1991
End of the Cold War meaning that both the USA and USSR gain power and grow economically
1992-2001
Bill Clinton is President
1991
Masazumi Chaya was named Associate Artistic Director of AAADT and he restates repertoire to help keep Ailey’s Spirit Alive
2001-2009
George Bush becomes President
2001
Twin tower attack
2004
A dynamic collaboration between Judith Jamison, Robert Battle and Rennie Harris on “Love Stories”
2007
The great recession is at its worst since WW2
2008
Barack Obama becomes President- first African American
2011
Robert Battle becomes artistic director of AAADT after being hand picked by Jamison in July
2013
5% increase in funding for arts and culture
