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WHO'S WHO IN THE COMPANY? ALVIN AILEY (Founder) was born on January 5, 1931, in Rogers, TX. His experiences of life in the rural South would later inspire some of his most memorable works. He was introduced to dance during junior high school in Los Angeles, and his formal dance training began with his friend Carmen de Lavallade taking him to Lester Horton’s classes. Horton, the founder of one of the first racially integrated dance companies in the United States, became a mentor for Mr. Ailey. After Horton’s death in 1953, Mr. Ailey became director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In 1958, he founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He established The Ailey School in 1969 and formed Ailey II in 1974. Throughout his lifetime he was awarded numerous distinctions, including the Kennedy Center Honor in 1988. In 2014, he posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. When Mr. Ailey died on December 1, 1989, The New York Times said of him, “you didn’t need to have known [him] personally to have been touched by his humanity, enthusiasm, and exuberance and his courageous stand for multi-racial brotherhood." FRANCESCA HARPER (Artistic Director) began her professional dance career with Dance Theatre of Harlem. She was also a member of Ballett Frankfurt from 1991-1999 under the direction of William Forsythe, and she has performed on Broadway in productions including Fosse, All Shook Up, The Color Purple, Sweet Charity, and Sophisticated Ladies, and was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical by Broadway.com for her role as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Ms. Harper created her first play, 50 minutes with Harriet and Phillis, produced by Anna Deavere Smith, with her aunt, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Margo Jefferson, and Paul Miller, a.k.a DJ Spooky. In 2014, she debuted her critically acclaimed one-woman show, The Look of Feeling, as a writer, actor, dancer, and vocalist. She is also the writer, producer, composer, and narrator of the documentary film To Lillian (2021). Ms. Harper has choreographed works for companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Dance Theater of Harlem, Hubbard Street II, and Tanz Graz, as well as The Francesca Harper Project, which she had founded in 2005. Her television and film credits include appearances on Boardwalk Empire, Late Night with David Letterman, and The Oprah Winfrey Show. She served as ballet consultant for the motion picture Black Swan and was featured in Zinnias – The Life of Clementine Hunter, directed by Robert Wilson. In 2013, Ms. Harper received a Living History Award during Black History Month from Long Island University and the Innovation and Technology Award for her choreography for Fashion Week with designer Louis Vuitton. She also served as co-director and choreographer for the musical Rose’s War and as movement director for Tommy Hilfiger and Zendaya for their fashion show at the Apollo Theater in 2019. Ms. Harper was the creator and directorial consultant for 16 world premiere virtual films. Her latest works include a new creation for Wendy Whelan, Associate Artistic Director of New York City Ballet, and poet Marc Bamuthi Joseph. Currently, Ms. Harper is engaged as Executive Producer with Sony Pictures on a series in development, and recently she received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Goddard College. SYLVIA WATERS (Artistic Director Emerita, Ailey II) was personally selected by Alvin Ailey in 1974 as Artistic Director of Ailey II and led the company for 38 years. She attended The Juilliard School, where she worked with Donald McKayle’s company, and with a young Hava Kohav –who later became an actress and Academy Award nominee— performing very often to widely populated audiences of the entire New York Dance community at the YMHA. After receiving her B.S. from Juilliard, she moved to Paris, where she appeared regularly on television. She toured in the European company of Black Nativity and worked with Michel Descombey, then director of the Paris Opera Ballet, as well as Milko Šparembleck. She also performed in Donald McKayle's European production of Black New