Judith Jamison To Retire

The artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Judith Jamison, will retire in 2011, Ms. Jamison announced yesterday. Ms. Jamison, who has led the troupe since Ailey's death in 1989, has overseen the growth of the company into a 30-member troupe with a $56-million home base in Midtown, which opened in 2004. During Ms. Jamison's tenure, the company has also created a bachelor of fine arts program for dancers with Fordham University, and has expanded its performances in New York to include a season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in addition to the company's long-standing annual season at City Center.

Ms. Jamison danced in the Ailey company for 15 years under Ailey's guidance. She will serve as artistic director emerita upon her retirement.