Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a modern dance company founded by Alvin Ailey on March 30, 1958. The company was established during the civil rights movement to uplift the African American experience while transcending boundaries of race, faith, and nationality. It was the first modern dance company of its kind. A US Congressional resolution has designated it as a “vital American Cultural Ambassador to the World.”
The company maintains a repertory of close to 300 works by more than 100 choreographers. Alvin Ailey reimagined the company as a “library of dance,” serving as a home for a wide range of choreographers’ works. The company performs and tours nationally and internationally, having appeared in more than 70 countries on six continents. In 2025, Alicia Graf Mack became the organization’s fourth artistic director, following her career as a former Ailey dancer and dean of the Dance Division at The Juilliard School.
The company is based at The Joan Weill Center for Dance in New York. Its current roster includes 32 dancers, with Matthew Rushing serving as Associate Artistic Director and Bennett Rink as Executive Director.
