There are few images more indelible in the history of American dance: Judith Jamison, regal and passionate in white leotard and long ruffled skirt, punching the air in “Cry" — Alvin Ailey’s piercing solo about Black womanhood.
That searing 1971 piece made her an international star. But it was truly only the beginning of Jamison’s decades-long career atop modern dance, onstage and off. As Ailey’s hand-picked successor beginning in 1989, she led his namesake company for more than 20 years, helping it become the most successful modern dance troupe in the nation.
