Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), formerly Alvin Ailey Dance Theater (AADT), is the largest modern dance company in the United States.Dance Data Project (October 2024). 2024 Largest Contemporary and Modern Companies Report. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ranks #1 in “Largest 50” U.S. Contemporary and Modern Companies (by expenditure). p. 6. Based in New York City, the company was founded in 1958 as Alvin Ailey and Company by choreographer, dancer, and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Alvin Ailey (1931–1989). In 1959, Ailey also co-founded the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, a studio and performance space where AADT practiced and performed, which closed in 1989. In 2014, Clark Center NYC was established by former faculty and students to honour the legacy of the Clark Center.
The Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation, which includes AAADT, Ailey II, the Ailey School, Ailey Extension, AileyCamp, and other operations, is housed in the Joan Weill Center for Dance, in Manhattan.(February 2006). Harting, Rebecca, and Pablo Bruno P.E. Revelations: the Joan Weill Center for Dance. Structure Magazine.
AAADT is recognized as a vital American cultural ambassador by the United States Congress,"Text - H.Res.1088 - 110th Congress (2007-2008): Recognizing and commending the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for 50 years of service as a vital American cultural ambassador to the world." Congress.gov, Library of Congress, 15 July 2008, https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-resolution/1088/text. and has performed for a plethora of audiences in around the world. Known for combining elements of modern dance with African American cultural traditions, AAADT has played a significant role in expanding the visibility of Black artists in concert dance.
History Foundation and performances (1958-1989) In 1958, Alvin Ailey and a group of young Black modern dancers performed as Alvin Ailey and Company at the 92nd Street Y in New York.Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater 2024-25 Press Kit.Ailey History. Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation. Ailey was the company's director, choreographer, and principal dancer. The company started as an ensemble of seven dancers, including Nat Horne, Minnie Marshall, Ella Thompson Moore, and Dorene Richardson, "the only dancer who performed in Alvin Ailey’s two concerts (1958 and 1960) at the 92nd Street Y."City Parks Foundation (August 14, 2019). THE FIRST AILEY DANCERS: ELLA THOMPSON, NAT HORNE & DORENE RICHARDSON In addition to Ailey, the original company worked with guest choreographers."Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre: Origins to 1979", International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 1. Oxford University Press, New York: 1979. 54–57. For the company's first performance, Ailey's Ariette Oubliée, Blues Suite, and Cinco Latinos were featured.
In 1959, Ailey was a co-founder, with Thelma Hill, of the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, a studio and performance space situated in the Westside YWCA building. The first director of the center was Edele Nielsen Holtz, who served from 1960 to 1963.
In 1960, the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater became the first resident dance company in the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, In the same year, the company, later to be renamed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), presented the premiere of Revelations at Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York.Burford, Mark (December 07, 2021). Alvin Ailey Finds His Voice. Oxford American, ISSUE 115, WINTER 2021. Rehearsals for Revelations were held in the basement of Clark Center for the Performing Arts,
Soon after, in 1962, Ailey recast his all-black dance company into a multi-racial group, and the modernized company completed its first international tour to Australia and southeast Asia. The tour of the Lavallade-Ailey American Dance Company, named for Ailey's partnership with Carmen de Lavallade, started in Sydney, Australia, and ended in Seoul, South Korea. They continued to tour around the world, now in Europe in 1964, as the company of five women and five men toured as the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. The dancers included Loretta Abbott, Takako Asakawa, Hope Clarke, Joan Peters, and Lucinda Ransom, Alvin Ailey, Bill Luther, Hector Mercado, James Truitte, and Dudley Williams, performed in Paris and London.London Likes American Dancers. New York Times. Dec. 27, 1964. Dancer and choreographer Judith Jamison joined the dance company in 1965,Kisselgoff, Anna (December 10, 1993). Review/Dance; With Motion and Song, the Ailey Marks 35 Years. New York Times. and would later serve as the company's first artistic director after Alvin Ailey's death in 1989.
In 1969, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater performed at Broadway's Billy Rose Theater for their time.Barnes, Clive (January 28, 1969). Dance: Ailey and Troupe in Triumph; Start Run on Broadway After a Decade Away. New York Times. Following, in 1970, the Ailey company and school relocated to 229 East 59th Street in Manhattan, a renovated church building. In April of that year, a financial crisis caused Ailey to issue a statement that the dissolution of the company might take place. The crisis abated, however, and in 1971 AAADT made its first performance at the New York City Center.
AAADT had their debut performance at the State Theater at Lincoln Center in 1974.McDonagh, Don (December 29, 1974). Alvin Ailey—A Remarkable Year. New York Times. The program featured Ailey's “Feast of Ashes,” Talley Beatty's “The Road of the Phoebe Snow,” John Butler's “Portrait of Billie” revival, the premiere of John Jones's “Nocturne,” and Joyce Trisler's “Journey.” The company then performed at President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration gala in 1977.
1988 marked the AAADT's 30th-anniversary season, where they hosted a gala at the City Center.Kisselgoff, Anna (December 4, 1988). DANCE VIEW; Ailey: Dancing the Dream. New York Times. The company and school are located at 45th Street and Broadway, and move the following year into a 36,000 square-foot space at 211 West 61st Street in Manhattan.
In 1989, Alvin Ailey died from AIDS-related complications.Kourlas, Gia (November 27, 2018). "A Dance Homage to Alvin Ailey as His Company Turns 60". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 29, 2019.CBC Radio (August 13, 2021). He was Black, gay and bipolar — and he forever changed the face of modern dance. New documentary explores the complex life and legacy of American dancer and choreographer Alvin Ailey. Judith Jamison replaced Ailey as the artistic director of AAADT.Judith Jamison, Artistic Director Emerita. Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation. The company was struggling with mounting debts,Kaufman, Sarah (January 24, 2004. The Ailey: Healthy, Wealthy and Prized. The Washington Post. and the number of company dancers was reduced. In 1989, the Clark Center for the Performing Arts was forced to close.
In 2000, AAADT launched the silent phase of a five-year, sixty-six million dollar capital campaign for a new building that would double its size and an endowment for financial stability.Gardner, Margaret Battistelli (April 1, 2005). Fluid Fundraising: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's capital campaign was a well-choreographed project that breathed new life into the organization's fundraising plan. NonProfitPRO. Two years later, AAADT broke ground on its new building site on West 55th Street.
The United States Postal Service issued a first class postage stamp honoring Alvin Ailey in 2004 as part of the American Choreographers stamp series,Alvin Ailey Master of Choreography. Smithsonian National Postal Museum. and the Oprah Winfrey Foundation pledged one million dollars to endow a student scholarship at the Ailey School.Segal, Lewis (May 26, 2004). Oprah’s no wallflower at this dance. Los Angeles Times.Alexandra (May 20, 2004). Oprah gives $1 million to Ailey School. Ballet Alert! A year later, the Ailey organization, including the main company, Ailey II, and the Ailey School, moved into its new West 55th Street home, the Joan Weill Center for Dance, the former WNET-TV studios where AAADT first appeared on television in the early 1960s.
In 2008, Glorya Kaufman donated six million dollars to AAADT's educational programs, including support for AileyCamp programs, the Ailey School, and a BFA program with Fordham University.Cole, Patrick (May 21, 2008). Dancing Philanthropist Gives $6 Million to Alvin Ailey Troupe. Bloomberg. The fifth floor lobby in the Weill Center for Dance is named in Kaufman's honor. The United States Congress also passed a resolution this year officially designating the company a "vital American Cultural Ambassador to the World."
The United States Senate passed a resolution recognizing the artistic and cultural contributions of AAADT amidst the 50th Anniversary (2011) of the first performance of the Ailey classic Revelations. That same year, Robert Battle, artistic director (2011-2023), established a New Directions Choreography Lab to nurture emerging artists.
In 2014, AAADT kicked off a fifty million dollar capital campaign, "Campaign for Ailey's Future," to support artistic, educational, and building expansion projects, and to honor outgoing board chair Joan Weill. Sandy Weill, Joan Weill's husband, provided a lead gift of sixteen million dollars to the campaign.AAADT also received a twenty million dollar gift in 2021 from MacKenzie Scott to support its "Dancing Forward" initiatives.Press release (June 22, 2021).$20 MILLION GIFT FROM MACKENZIE SCOTT TO ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER TO FUND THE COMPANY’S TRANSFORMATIVE “DANCING FORWARD” INITIATIVES. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.Daniels, Karu F. (June 23, 2021). How Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater plans to use $20 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. NY Daily News.
Also in 2014, Clark Center NYC was established by former faculty and students (including Loretta Abbott) of Clark Center for the Performing Arts, in order to "to remember, honor and preserve the history of this seminal and vital arts organization".
In 2024, the Whitney Museum unveiled "Edges of Ailey," the first major museum exhibition to survey the artistry of Alvin Ailey and AAADT.Edges of Ailey. Through February 9, 2025. Whitney Museum of American Art. In November 2024, AAADT announced that Alicia Graf Mack, a former Alvin Ailey company member and the dean and director of the dance division at Juilliard, will take over as AAADT artistic director on July 1, 2025.
International presence Ailey founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1958, gathering 35 dancers for eight concerts at 92nd Street. The dancers performed Blues Suite to a positive reception to the New York crowd. Building off this reception, the company toured the world, in Europe, Australia, and Southeast Asia. In 1966, the company performed at the First World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal, where the audience responded positively. Ailey’s choreographic strategy at the time was to provide a structure for the dancers while demanding improvisation and insisting on character over technique. Additionally, Ailey actively rejected the “black dance” label, contending that “good dance” transcends racial categorization.
Despite enthusiastic audiences internationally, the company endured considerable institutional hardships. The cost of living stranded dancers in Barcelona, and many lived in Milan brothels without pay, so Ailey reinvested his personal earnings from Broadway directly into the company, demonstrating his devotion. Following Ailey’s death in 1988, the board appointed Judith Jamison company director, and she honored his legacy by eventually creating a school on 61st street, preserving his global vision.