Alicia Graf Mack on Becoming Artistic Director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

A Full-Circle Homecoming

• 🎯 Alicia Graf Mack describes her appointment as the new artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a "full-circle moment".
• 🌟 She views the opportunity as a homecoming, feeling prepared, ready, and honored to lead the esteemed company.

Fourth Artistic Director

• 🔑 Mack is the fourth person to hold the prestigious role of artistic director, following in the footsteps of legend Alvin Ailey, Robert Battle, and her mentor, the late Judith Jamison.
• 💡 Her vision is to enlarge Alvin Ailey's original vision by incorporating new voices and fresh ideas, while preserving the company's core aesthetic.

Core Aesthetic and Values

• ✨ The company's aesthetic is defined by identity, power, presence, beauty, and the resilience of the human spirit.
• 💖 Mack aims to uphold these foundational elements as she guides the theater forward.

Personal Journey and Perseverance

• 🩰 Mack's dance journey began at age two and a half, and she trained under Arthur Mitchell at the Dance Theater of Harlem.
• ⚠️ Despite facing roadblocks, autoimmune disease, and injuries, she persevered, even performing with the dance division at Juilliard.
• 🎓 A Columbia University graduate, she found inspiration and guidance from Judith Jamison, whom she considers a "blueprint" for her career.