November 23, 2024
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Names Alicia Graf Mack As Artistic Director
Mack will be succeeding Robert Battle, who stepped down last November, and Judith Jamison, who passed away earlier this month.
Alicia Graf Mack is carrying on the legacy of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as its newest artistic director.
The organization announced on Nov. 21 that Mack had been appointed following an extensive global search. This marks a significant achievement for Mack, a former member of the renowned dance institution, who will leave her current role as director of the dance division at Juilliard to join Alvin Ailey in July 2025.
“I have been inspired by the Ailey organization since I was a baby,” Mack told The New York Times. “I am feeling incredibly blessed and grateful for the opportunity.”
“I am so thrilled to be able to bring everything that I’ve learned back home to a company that I feel so connected to,” she added. “I’m feeling clear-minded and ready to go.”
Mack will become the fourth artistic director of the organization, succeeding Robert Battle, who unexpectedly stepped down last November, and Judith Jamison, who took on the role after Ailey died in 1989 and passed away earlier this month. Matthew Rushing has been serving as the interim artistic director.
Anthony A. Lewis, a board member who led the selection committee, highlighted Mack’s emotional intelligence, humility, and sense of purpose as qualities that set her apart from other global candidates.
“In Alicia, we saw a strength of character like Mr. Ailey’s, along with a vision for the future,” he said. “It became a clear choice.”
A native of Columbia, Maryland, Mack’s tall stature and long limbs made her a standout in the dance world. She joined the Dance Theater of Harlem at 17, but injuries and a rheumatic disease forced her to step away. After earning a degree from Columbia University, she returned to the Dance Theater to continue her dance career.
However, she was soon out of work when the Dance Theater went on hiatus due to financial struggles. After an audition with the American Ballet Theater, where she was told she was too tall, she felt discouraged. She later found work at Alvin Ailey, where she was introduced to modern dance, hip-hop, and other styles, performing with the company from 2005 to 2008.
She left to pursue a master’s degree in nonprofit management, returning to Alvin Ailey from 2011 to 2014 before transitioning to a full-time career as an educator. Coming back to Alvin Ailey 10 years later is a full circle moment for Mack, who always felt welcomed by the institution.
“I am a nearly six-foot tall Black woman,” Mack said, “and to step into a company that embraced me for exactly who I am — that saw as special gifts what others viewed as barriers — allowed me to hone my craft, think about artistry and grow into myself.”
Mack looks forward to getting comfortable in her new role before making major decisions. However, she emphasized that her choices would be guided by the Ailey tradition of “a connection to humanity and spirit,” as well as by “Mr. Ailey’s sense that his art and social justice were one and the same” and his often-quoted aim “to hold a mirror to society and to show people how beautiful they are.”
“Ailey dancers are always aware that they are cultural ambassadors,” she said, “and in these very complicated, discouraging times, the role of artists to bring beauty and hope is even more important.”
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