Imagine stepping into a legacy, a living, breathing testament to artistry and cultural impact. That's precisely what Alicia Graf Mack has done, taking the helm as the new artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. But it's not just a job; it's a culmination of a lifetime dedicated to dance, a journey paved with passion, resilience, and a deep connection to the Ailey legacy.
Recently, at Ailey's Manhattan headquarters, the air crackled with anticipation as the company rehearsed for Revelations, Ailey’s iconic 1960 masterpiece. It felt less like a rehearsal and more like a joyous reunion. The rhythmic pulse of a drum set filled the room, while vocalists prepared with their sheet music and iPads. The excitement was palpable because, after a long wait, the artists were together again, preparing for the opening night performance on December 3rd. Revelations, with its powerful song-sermons and gospel music, is traditionally performed with live music at the start of the company's annual residency at New York City Center. As the musical director cued "Wade in the Water," a spiritual evoking Ailey's childhood baptism in rural Texas, dancers began a mesmerizing procession, their torsos undulating with emotion. During "Rocka My Soul," the dancers brought out an explosion of yellow rattan fans, a vibrant tribute to humid Sunday services, creating a palpable breeze that swept through the audience seated on folding chairs.
During a brief pause, Alicia Graf Mack, a two-time Ailey veteran and now the artistic director, stepped in to demonstrate the effortless fluidity of a head movement. Despite the immense pressure of her inaugural season, Graf Mack's life experiences have serendipitously prepared her for this pivotal moment, beginning with her first role at 17 with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and culminating in her seven-year tenure as director of Juilliard's dance division. As the piano trilled and a soloist began to sing, it felt as though they were channeling the inner thoughts of someone assuming leadership of a beloved international institution: "I wanna be ready, Lord."
At 46, Graf Mack, a statuesque figure and mother of two, joined Ailey in July, becoming only the fourth artistic director in the company's history. Alvin Ailey himself led the company from its inception in 1958 until his untimely death from AIDS-related complications in 1989. Ailey handpicked Judith Jamison, a majestic dancer who graced the troupe from 1965 to 1980, to succeed him. Jamison undeniably transformed Ailey into a household name, frequently choreographing for the company and spearheading the campaign to construct its six-story permanent home on 55th Street and Ninth Avenue. In 2011, Jamison passed the baton to Robert Battle, who expanded the repertoire of choreographers during his 12-year leadership.
Now, the coveted corner office is occupied by Graf Mack. She brought along her framed Revelations fan, a cherished memento from her time as a performer. She also made room for a vibrant patchwork chaise longue that belonged to Ms. Jamison, who sadly passed away last fall at the age of 81. Reflecting on their relationship, Graf Mack shared, "I would never call her Judi—it would sound odd coming out of my mouth." Graf Mack had a poster of Jamison in her childhood bedroom. Their bond was one of mutual respect, one artist to another: "'You're a divine spirit walker,' she would text me sometimes."
Graf Mack's appointment in November 2024, just weeks after Jamison's death, felt almost destined. The company is once again led by a five-foot-ten woman who captivated audiences on the Ailey stage. (A poster from the 2012-2013 season featuring Graf Mack, one leg extended in a side-split jump beyond 180 degrees, undoubtedly graced the bedrooms of a younger generation.) Like Jamison, Graf Mack carried the parasol in Revelations, a role typically reserved for a matriarchal figure. The umbrella serves as a fitting metaphor, considering everything Ailey-related falls under her purview. This includes the main company and Ailey II, designed for emerging dancers; the Ailey School, which provides pre-professional training and a BFA program in partnership with Fordham; Ailey Extension classes, which cater to the broader community; and AileyCamp's summer programs nationwide for middle schoolers from underserved communities. It's a massive organization with a huge impact.
"This organization feels rooted in an individual's big dream for art and what it can do," Graf Mack says, reflecting on Alvin Ailey's extraordinary vision, which celebrated personal identity and shared experience. Ronni Favors, the rehearsal director who joined Ailey as a student in 1974, notes that Graf Mack shares Jamison's audacious spirit as interpreters. "They're not afraid to dream big and shoot high, even if their affect is different." She remembers Jamison comparing her dancers to B52 bombers—her apartment overlooked the Intrepid, so she'd watch the airplanes come and go with hurtling might—while Graf Mack embodies a knowing reserve.
"The thing that drives everything we do," Favors adds, "is Mr. Ailey's beautiful quote. He said, 'I believe that dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people.'" Now, with Graf Mack at the helm, the collective goal deepens: "How many different ways can we make good on that promise?" This is a powerful statement that summarizes the core mission of Ailey.
Graf Mack's journey into dance began in childhood. Her mother, a Howard professor who also ran a community modeling school in Columbia, Maryland, would take her to evening courses. Soon, Graf Mack, with her coltish limbs, was invited to join the neighboring dance class. Ballet became her passion, consuming her free time. "Growing up biracial—just trying to figure out, Who am I and how do I navigate this world?—I had all these images of dancers of color on my walls," she says. When Ailey toured through town, she'd catch them at the Kennedy Center and Baltimore's Lyric Opera House.
At 11, she took a master class with Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH)—founded by Arthur Mitchell, the first Black principal at New York City Ballet and a protégé of George Balanchine. Principal dancer Donald Williams signed her shoes with a prophetic message: "Hope to see you at DTH one day." Six years later, she joined the company. Despite the rarity of a six-foot-four woman dancing en pointe, Mitchell never considered Graf Mack's height a disadvantage. "He said, 'We have lots of tall partners for you here,'" she once shared. "I never had to fight to feel a sense of belonging. I only had to do the thing that I was hired to do."
However, a career that began so promisingly faced challenges. Injuries related to a rheumatoid condition sidelined Graf Mack after just three years. She enrolled at Columbia University as a history major, while continuing to take dance classes at Steps. There, she embraced Horton technique—a welcome change from ballet—under the guidance of Milton Myers, then a teacher with Ailey. Myers encouraged her to meet with Jamison and arranged for her to take class with the company during her spring break. "For me, it was like being a tourist," says Graf Mack, who appreciated the opportunity to meet an idol but already had a job lined up at JP Morgan for the fall. She spent that summer filling in with the contemporary ballet company Complexions, when dance legend Carmen de Lavallade, a high school friend of Ailey's, took her aside. Regarding the bank job, de Lavallade said, "'You can do that at any time in your life, but it's clear that you are born to do this and your body is telling you that you can, so you should.'"
"There have been all these—I call them angels—to point me forward, and they've all been Ailey people," Graf Mack says. She heeded the advice and rejoined Dance Theatre of Harlem as a principal, though the company closed after a year due to financial instability. In 2005, she finally auditioned for Ailey, dancing for three years before injury intervened again. Academia beckoned, and she earned a master's degree in nonprofit management, embarking on a career as a professor. Then, as Jamison prepared for retirement, she invited Graf Mack and Jamar Roberts to reprise A Case of You, her 2004 duet that portrays a couple caught in the sometimes jagged, sometimes tender cycle of love. Robert Battle, the newly appointed artistic director, convinced Graf Mack to return for another three-year run—“this time married,” she recalls. “Life happens in between.”
It's not always clear how one's diverse pursuits will eventually converge. In this case, the final piece of the puzzle was Graf Mack's appointment as dean and director of Juilliard's dance division in 2018. The role demanded institutional knowledge and classroom finesse. She assisted with fundraising, secured visiting choreographers, and restructured history courses. As a Black woman with an extensive performing career, she understood the evolving landscape for working artists. With fewer major companies, graduates needed stylistic versatility, with training in a range of disciplines. New composition requirements prepared dancers to collaborate with choreographers who increasingly relied on in-studio improvisations. Old gender norms in ballet were challenged, allowing students to choose between pointe or allegro tracks. New media courses foreshadowed the changes that would soon occur during COVID. Graf Mack's vision of diversity was all-encompassing—reflecting the world as it is and aspiring to what it could be.
Graf Mack's appointment at Ailey occurs at a pivotal moment. The recent "Edges of Ailey" exhibition at the Whitney Museum, a monumental project that explored the impact and influences of Alvin Ailey, has recontextualized his name for new audiences. The accompanying performance series, which featured dancemakers from various eras and backgrounds, emphasized Ailey's original inclusive vision. "He didn't want just a company for his own work, but a repertory company to give a platform for other artists to share their stories," says Graf Mack. This is a crucial point to remember when considering Ailey's legacy moving forward.
At the same time, Ailey's core principles—honoring identity alongside aesthetic achievement—face shifting political winds. The company's Washington, D.C., season next year will take place at the historic Warner Theatre, quietly concluding a long chapter at the Kennedy Center. Graf Mack has witnessed the upheaval across higher education and arts organizations, and she and the Ailey leadership are proceeding with care and integrity. "We follow the founding tenets and then we allow [Mr. Ailey's] bravery to keep us going into the future," she says. Here was a queer Black man fearlessly challenging the cultural establishment. "He very much put our stories at the forefront, even when that might not have been widely accepted, but his genius is that he did it in a way that made audience members see themselves onstage, whoever they were, from any background, identity, place around the world." This is a powerful statement, particularly relevant in today's polarized climate.
The City Center program highlights this effort to simultaneously honor tradition and embrace innovation. Maija García's Jazz Island, featuring an original score by trumpeter and composer Etienne Charles, is a narrative exploration of Afro-Caribbean folklore created for the full company. García drew inspiration from Geoffrey Holder's Black Gods, Green Islands; Holder's longtime partner, Carmen de Lavallade, called it "a very good meal" after a recent preview.
Graf Mack sees Jazz Island as a continuation of Ailey's first work, Blues Suite (1958)—each dancer embodying a distinct character—while the company premiere of Blink of an Eye is a contemporary addition. Choreographed by Medhi Walerski for eight dancers, it was originally created for Nederlands Dans Theater. "It's not built in the Black aesthetic or cultural narrative language," she says. What makes it Ailey is the "amazing dancing with so much heart and daring." During a rehearsal, Graf Mack exclaimed when a petite dancer leaped a significant distance into waiting arms—an illustration of risk and reward. And this is the part most people miss: It's not just about the steps, but the feeling behind them.
For the opening night performance, Grammy-winning violinist Melissa White will play for Blink of an Eye, and Samara Joy, also a Grammy winner, will accompany the newly revived A Case of You, replacing Diana Krall's rendition of the Joni Mitchell track. But the first glimpse of the new season arrived early, for the audience Ailey always envisioned. On the Friday evening before Thanksgiving, the company's rehearsal for Revelations took place in the street-level studio. They opened the shades and piped the music out onto the sidewalk, a Ninth Avenue take on holiday windows. "It's amazing to practice these gifts," Graf Mack says, but "the mission is to give dance back to the people." But here's where it gets controversial... Does prioritizing accessibility and tradition risk stagnation, or is it the key to Ailey's continued relevance? And could the inclusion of works outside the "Black aesthetic" dilute Ailey's core identity, or does it represent a necessary evolution? What are your thoughts? Share your opinions in the comments below!
