Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Jacquelin Harris. Photo by Dario Calmese
By Kharisma McIlwaine
The name Alvin Ailey is synonymous with legacy.
The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (now The Ailey School), founded in 1969, and the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble (now Ailey II), founded in 1974, have been championing for creative freedom through motion since their inception. Ailey’s impact continues to inspire generations of audiences.
Charlotte, North Carolina native Jacquelin Harris joined the company in 2014, after one year at Ailey II. She spoke with the SUN of her excitement about returning to Philadelphia for “Ensemble Arts Philly presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.”
Harris’ love for dance began around the time she began to walk.
“I started dancing when I was almost two years old, Harris said. “I have four older sisters. They all danced before me. My mother put me in dance, and I knew I was meant to be there right away. I think I fell in love with the expression of it. I lost my first tooth at the dance studio, the first shoe I ever tied was a tap shoe. I was always a shy child. I felt connected to the art form as a way to express myself.”
Harris was first introduced to Alvin Ailey’s work in high school when her dance class watched the Alvin Ailey Dance special on PBS during Black History Month. Her teacher spoke with them about the culture of the company, and how it has been used around the world to share American history and the power and resilience of the African American community. That conversation was the catalyst for Harris to pursue dance professionally.
“My senior year of high school, I did the Young Arts Program with The National Foundation for The Advancement of the Arts,” she said. “It was my first time understanding that dance could be a career. It wasn’t just a hobby or something that you do for yourself, but something that you do in service to the audience and the community. That’s when I realized I wanted to study dance in college. My first time seeing the company live was my freshman year in college. I was able to go to the opening night gala. I fell in love. I was mesmerized by their grace, by their power, by their physique and physicality, and of course by the stories they were telling on stage. I auditioned and attended The Ailey School, the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, and I graduated in 2014, joining Ailey my senior year of college. That same year in May of 2014, I joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.”
With over a decade of tenure working within the Alvin Ailey company, Harris is inspired most by what her gift gives to audiences.
“In my 11 seasons with this company, I’m realizing more and more [that] for each and every audience, I’m understanding how much service work performing actually is,” Harris said. “It feels like our duty to instill hope, unity and push the underlying message of humanity to these audiences. To see the impact on people, especially at a time when it seems the world is going through so many different changes, from the pandemic to political changes — to find grounding and roots in our culture, and in people is really powerful. It feels like passion and a purpose. We’re using our art to bring spirit and hope to the world.”
In Harris’ 11 seasons with Ailey American Dance Theater, she has achieved a great deal including being recognized by the Chicago Sun and The Wall Street Journal, a feature in ABC Nightline’s special for Ailey’s 60th anniversary, being named one of “25 to Watch” in 2016’s Dance Magazine and being the face of Ailey’s 2022-2023 poster.
“The poster was an incredible honor and something that I’ll never take for granted,” Harris said. “Growing up in Charlotte, I didn’t have examples of a lot of people who took their art to the next level and performed on the world stage. To be able to bring that back home and say thank you to all the people that supported me was an honor, and definitely a privilege. To know that when people see my face, they see a legacy, they see a history — it just brought another level of purpose to what I’m doing with my art and passion.”
Philadelphia’s rich history of dance and the connection with Alvin Ailey specifically, is a point of excitement for Philadelphia audiences who look forward to the return of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater each season.
“Philadelphia is always somewhat of a home to the Ailey company,” Harris said. “There’s a lot of connectivity, a lot of roots to Black dance there with Philadanco, and all of the people in Ailey that have come through that program under Joan Myers Brown. There’s definitely a lot of roots there, especially with Ms. Judith Jamison being a Philadelphia native. It’s an honor to come back to Philly and celebrate her life and legacy this year.”
Visionary leader, dancer and choreographer Judith Jamison, who died on November 9, 2024, is being honored throughout the Ailey 2024-2025 season.
“I’m excited to present Alvin Ailey’s iconic work “Cry” (In 1971 Mr. Ailey choreographed Cry on Ms. Judith Jamison) especially at this time when we’re honoring her and everything that she’s done for the dance community and especially the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,” Harris said.
In addition to honoring Jamison’s legacy, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will present two programs in Philadelphia.
“We’re presenting “Grace” by Ronald K. Brown, originally choreographed in 1999,” Harris said. “We’re doing “Sacred Songs,” a new creation by our interim artistic director, Matthew Rushing. They’re bringing that work back and giving it new life. We’re presenting “Finding Free” by Hope Boykin, a Philadelphia legend, and “Many Angels,” created by Lar Lubovitch, a new creation. All of these works in their own way embody “Dancing Spirit.” They embody what Ms. Jamison showed to the dancing community. We end each performance with the iconic work “Revelations.””
“I’m excited to make sure the Philadelphia audience feels our spirit,” Harris added.
“I hope that their souls are lifted. I hope that their spirits are high. I hope that they see the importance of community and humanity and understand that unity and togetherness is how we can move forward and overcome these trying times. Together we can create a beautiful and better world. We’re proud to represent Ailey in Philadelphia.”
To support Jacquelin Harris on her journey. follow her on IG @jacquelinh. To learn more about the legacy of Alvin Ailey, and stay up to date on performances, visit: ailey.org. Ensemble Arts Presents Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater at The Academy of Music February 28-March 2nd. For more information on tickets and showtimes visit: ensembleartsphilly.org.
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