Former Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to speak at Fairfield University | Press Releases

Media Contact: Lori Jones, Ljones@fairfield.edu , 203-254-4000 ext. 2975

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (January 12, 2016) — Judith Jamison, inheritor of the legacy of choreographer Alvin Ailey, shares her challenges and triumphs in the performing arts as part of the Open VISIONS Forum at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts at 3 p.m., Sunday, January 31, 2016.

Tickets are $45. Fairfield University student tickets are $5. For tickets and information, visit www.quickcenter.com or call the Box Office at 203-254-4010 or toll free at 1-877-ARTS-396. The lecture is sponsored, in part, by Darien Rowayton Bank, H.J. Baker & Bro, WSHU and Moffly Media.

A legendary icon in the world of performing arts, Judith Jamison is known for her work as a dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Jamison, who as a dancer with the troupe from 1965 to 1980 became one of modern dance's most powerful female performers, and was appointed artistic director in December 1989 at the request of her mentor, Alvin Ailey, who personally chose her to succeed him before his untimely death. In 1999, Jamison was presented with the Kennedy Center Honor, recognizing her lifetime contributions to American culture through the performing arts. She was also the recipient of an Emmy Award and an American Choreography Award for the PBS "Great Performances: Dance In America" special, A Hymn for Alvin Ailey .

As part of Jamison’s lecture, “Choreographing the Dance of My Career: Challenges and Triumphs,” there will be an on-stage conversation with Open VISIONS Forum Director and Fairfield University faculty member Philip Eliasoph, as well as Emily Coates, director of dance studies at Yale University and former dancer with New York City Ballet, Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project, and Twyla Tharp Dance.

Pictured: Judith Jamison. Photo credit: Andrew Eccles

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Vol. 48, No. 77

Fairfield University is a Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools. In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.