Picturing Black History

Two dancers, their hands interlocked, twist in place before the camera lens. Without speaking the same language, they communicate through movement: their bodies take up complementary, mirror-image postures. Although the dancers are of different races, genders, and nationalities, it is clear that they stand on equal footing. They are true partners, inhabiting the same space, together.

This describes the image of dancers Judith Jamison and Mikhail Baryshnikov was taken before the premiere of Pas de “Duke” (1976), a duet by the renowned African American choreographer Alvin Ailey.

1983). He created the piece to showcase the talents of Jamison, his revered muse, alongside those of Baryshnikov, the recently-defected Soviet ballet star.

The duet marked a watershed moment in the history of American concert dance. It also embodied Ailey’s animating ideas about African American life, history, and art, which sustained his creative practice throughout his career.

Born in 1931 in Rogers, Texas, Ailey’s childhood unfolded in the shadow of the Great Depression and under the stifling thumb of Jim Crow. He quickly sensed the affirming, healing power of music for his family and neighbors, especially the blues at Saturday night socials and spirituals during Sunday church services. The communal acts of singing and dancing provided vehicles for celebration, joy, and dignity in an environment otherwise dominated by fear, violence, and demeaning labor.

Read more from Emily Hawk on Picturing Black History | Link in bio.

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