Quotes by Judith Jamison

About Judith Jamison:

Judith Ann Jamison is an American dancer and choreographer, best known as the Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

If you look at a dancer in silence, his or her body will be the music. If you turn the music on, that body will become an extension of what you're hearing.

Judith Jamison

You don't enter a dance studio and say "I can't do that." If you do, then why are you in the studio in the first place?

Judith Jamison

The first time I started choreographing was in the dark, in my living room, with the lights completely out, to some popular music on the radio. I put the radio on full blast and I started moving. I didn't know what it looked like. I didn't want to se...

Judith Jamison

I was a protege; by the age of 10, I was studying with ballet choreographer Anthony Tudor in a class of adults.

Judith Jamison

I've been in a competitive situation almost all my life. I've been having a competition with myself and trying to be the best I could be.

Judith Jamison

Maybe it's a generational thing, but I never wanted to be the best black dancer in the world. I just wanted to be the best.

Judith Jamison

You have to dance unencumbered. There's no other way to move. The idea of dance is freedom. It is not exclusiveness, it's inclusiveness.

Judith Jamison

I haven't had a family, but I don't think of that as a sacrifice: my dancers are my family.

Judith Jamison

People come to see beauty, and I dance to give it to them.

Judith Jamison

You wake up white, and you think about certain things every day. You wake up black, and you think about certain things. You wake up Chinese, and you think certain things - but those things aren't major. What's major is that you are good at your craft...

Judith Jamison

I believe God has a path for me. He's always had a path for me, and I've always been in the right place at the right time - not because of my efforts, but because of my preparation and because of the guides that I have, the mentors that I have, the s...

Judith Jamison

I've danced all over the world, and people are people. We cannot cut off from each other in life. In order to lead, you can't do that.

Judith Jamison

I've had a really charmed life, you know. Things always come to me - they just do.

Judith Jamison

My wonderful editor, Jackie Onassis, asked me to write a book that I wanted to write. I said, 'Look, it's not going to be scandalized. I'm not going to talk about anybody like a dog. I'm going to say the positiveness of my life, and talk about those ...

Judith Jamison

Since babyhood, I've always evolved from one thing to another. My mother gave me ballet lessons at 6 as part of her enthusiasm for the arts and for life. We went to museums, to the theater. While her own talent was untapped, she worked for church cau...

Judith Jamison

Concert dance is the hardest kind of dance. We tour constantly, around the world, year in and year out. It just doesn't work for everybody. It's the lifestyle, it's the stamina, it's the love, it's the dedication, it's the commitment, it's all those ...

Judith Jamison

As long as there are dancers around who love to dance, there will be an Alvin Ailey American Dance Company. We miss him so much, but he's alive as soon as you see a dancer hit the stage.

Judith Jamison

We can go on talking about racism and who treated whom badly, but what are you going to do about it? Are you going to wallow in that or are you going to create your own agenda?

Judith Jamison

Dancing is bigger than the physical body. Think bigger than that. When you extend your arm, it doesn't stop at the end of your fingers, because you're dancing bigger than that. You're dancing spirit.

Judith Jamison

I want to know who you are as a person, and then I want you to develop as a whole human being.

Judith Jamison

Author Bio

  • NameJudith Jamison
  • DescriptionAmerican dancer
  • BornMay 10, 1943
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionChoreographer; Dancer
  • AwardsNational Medal Of Arts; Emmy Award