Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater welcomes its fourth Creative Director, Alicia Graf Mack, following solely Alvin Ailey (1965-1989), Judith Jamison (1989-2011) and Robert Battle (2011-2023). She assumes the position from Matthew Speeding, who acted as interm AD from 2023-2024. Mack joins the corporate after a historical past of collegiate degree instructing and, most lately, because the Dean and Director of Dance on the Juilliard College, a task she held since 2018. Mack danced for the Ailey firm from 2005-2008, and once more from 2011-2014. Earlier to the Firm, Mack danced with Dance Theatre of Harlem. Dance Informa had the chance to talk with Mack about her new position, her unconventional profession path, the worth that damage and setback brings to a wealthy dance profession, and honoring those that got here earlier than her.
Changing into a choreographer, trainer, rehearsal director or creative director after a dancing profession is an inexpensive trajectory. Nevertheless, many dancers who find yourself in these roles after a few years onstage say they didn’t look forward to finding themselves in these jobs and that the journey unfolded organically. Was that the case for you, or did you all the time have your sights set on changing into the Creative Director of the Ailey firm?
“I by no means envisioned myself on this particular position. That is one thing that happened unexpectedly. I used to be loving my time at Juilliard. I like that group. I like the scholars. I like being in larger schooling. However when this chance happened, I believed, ‘What would that be like?’ I spotted I used to be truly poised for the place. I’ve been a part of the Ailey household for thus lengthy, even whereas I used to be at Juilliard, that it felt like the appropriate subsequent step. However, I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t see it coming in any respect.”
Your personal historical past as a dancer took some twists and turns all through your performing profession, and also you’ve held a number of jobs in larger schooling. What in regards to the much less conventional path of your profession gave you the instruments to be the type of chief you might be?
“My case could be very distinctive. It is vitally laborious to transition from being a dancer to the subsequent step. I’ve had many roadblocks to my dance profession, and that has truly been a blessing in disguise. It compelled me, very early in my dance profession, to consider myself as one thing aside from a dancer. I don’t suppose most individuals have that privilege as a result of if you’re performing, you’re all in. I used to be nonetheless very younger. I had an damage, and a horrible flare up of my autoimmune illness. I needed to cease dancing. Having this illness and being knowledgeable dancer compelled me right into a duality in my life as knowledgeable dancer, and as somebody who’s additionally aspiring in a special course. I’ve left my dance profession thrice. Every time, I retooled with varied levels, and located my life in administration and better schooling. I used to be discovering my love for dance in a special capability. Working in larger schooling undoubtedly ready me for this position, and particularly my time at Juilliard: being a prime tier faculty representing dance on a really excessive degree, working with world famend choreographers, holding crucial canons of repertory – all of this stuff nicely ready me for this place, in addition to the truth that I do know this group.”
Given your wealthy involvement with the Ailey firm over time and your need to take care of its historical past, tradition and requirements of excellence, what classes will you are taking out of your predecessors as you progress ahead on this position?
“It’s Mr. Ailey’s imaginative and prescient that we’re right here to uphold. He would need us to proceed to develop, elevate and enlarge. However it all the time needs to be by his guiding rules: sense of id, the thought to inform truthful tales, to honor all folks by means of Black American tradition and esthetic. I’ll take Mr. Ailey’s bravery. If he could lead on this firm within the late ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, I can do it in 2025. I discover my power from his bravery and braveness. Ms. Jamison…she grew to become a mentor and a mom determine to me. She actually had a really astute enterprise acumen. She introduced the corporate to the forefront of our tradition. She created a world model identify out of a dance firm. She knew how one can create stability. She led with quite a lot of love. She adored her dancers. She lifted them up and she or he made positive that we represented one thing bigger than ourselves with quite a lot of delight and excellence. One thing I realized from Robert Battle was his curation of labor beneath his course. There’s no firm on this planet, in my view, that has this diploma of variety of their rep as a contemporary dance firm.”
The Ailey firm all the time has a future at New York Metropolis Middle every winter. As the corporate approaches these efficiency, the primary with you on the helm, what are you most enthusiastic about on this new chapter?
“I’m excited for this upcoming season. We have now been in a unusually lengthy rehearsal interval. We have now a number of new works coming, and it was an exquisite probability for me to place my ft down another way with the corporate. I’ve been teaching quite a bit. I’ve been instructing firm class. I’ve been current in rehearsals. I’ve curated the works. Our artists are world class, born performers. They’re itching to be again on the stage. I’m excited for them to unleash that vitality. I’ll certainly be the loudest particular person within the viewers after they’re performing. I’m not solely the creative director of the primary firm, however I’m the creative director of the complete group. We’re feeding one another’s excellence, and that is one thing I’m actually excited to dive into. One among my strengths, and I really feel like I can say this out loud now, is to to construct a powerful inside tradition. I actually get pleasure from that work. It takes quite a lot of private vitality, time and presence, but it surely’s how I serve greatest.”
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s New York Metropolis Middle 2026 season runs from December 3, 2025-January 4, 2026. For tickets and extra data, go to ailey.org/sequence/ailey-new-york-city-center.
By Emily Sarkissian of Dance Informa.
