Alicia Graf Mack

By Kharisma McIlwaine

When Alicia Graf Mack was a toddler with dreams of becoming a dancer, her parents hung a picture of Judith Jamison on her bedroom wall — a vision of possibility in a tall, graceful Black woman who had risen to become a legendary principal dancer, choreographer and the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Two decades later, that vision fulfilled a manifestation.

In July 2025, Graf Mack formally assumed the role of the company’s fourth artistic director, succeeding not only her childhood idol Jamison, but also founder Alvin Ailey and Robert Battle. The artistic leadership of Ailey’s legacy spans nearly seven decades.

A former principal dancer with Ailey from 2005 to 2014 and most recently the dean and director of dance at The Juilliard School, Graf Mack now leads an expansive organization that includes the professional company, Ailey II, The Ailey School, and extensive community programs.

Graf Mack spoke with the SUN about her incredible journey to fulfilling a lifelong dream ahead of the company’s Philadelphia engagement.

Graf Mack reflected on the posters that inspired her in her childhood bedroom and traced the arc of her dream.

“I dreamed of being a dancer from the time I was a toddler,” she said. My parents exposed me to dance just knowing that it was my passion.

They would hang pictures of the greats in my room including Judith Jamison, because it was very clear from a very young age that I would be tall. By the time I knew that I wanted to make dance my profession, maybe around 11 years old, that’s when I really started to train very rigorously. She was not only my director, and became a mentor and friend later, but she was my idol growing up. So to step into your dreams with such an incredible person lighting the path and then stepping into her footsteps really has been an honor beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of.”

Throughout her career, Graf Mack has stood on the shoulders of titans, guided by the very legends who continue to inspire her.

“I’ve been very lucky in that sense,” she said. “I never met Mr. Ailey, however, because I’ve performed his works so intimately, of course, with his masterpiece “Revelations,” but also being a dancer within his organization that is so committed to his values and his vision to continue to amplify his artistry, I feel like I do kind of know him a little now being in this role. I’ve had so many awesome mentors to guide my path.”

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Ashley Kaylynn Green and Jacquelin Harris
Photo by Andrew Eccles

For Graf Mack, the transition from principal dancer to Ailey’s fourth artistic director was not sudden — instead, it was a path she paved with intention for years.

“It’s been quite an incredible journey. I think because the work of an Ailey dancer is so public, you spend your career on stage,” she said “There were several years where I did not spend time on stage, and I was developing my love for administration, leadership, and specifically in higher education. As you mentioned, I danced with the company from 2005-2014. I had a three-year break in the middle of that period where I received a master’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and I studied nonprofit management. Then I started my kind of parallel passion for higher education, teaching in higher education. I became a professor at Webster University for a year full time before I returned to the company.”

“Then in 2014, when I effectively retired for real, I then went back to Webster University,” Graf Mack continued. “I taught there for about three and a half more years. Then I transitioned and became the dean and director of dance at the Juilliard School in New York City. So, this really set me up for the type of experiences that are so necessary to lead an organization like Ailey as we are a professional company, but we are also an expansive organization that includes a second company, a school, our community, arts, and outreach. There are so many facets that excite me, but mostly that I get to stay in touch with artists and dancers in the studio. That’s where I thrive.”

Ahead of the company’s highly anticipated return to Philadelphia, Graf Mack offered a glimpse into what audiences can expect from this year’s engagement.

“We’re so excited to bring our company back to the Philadelphia community, and because we do perform there so often, that’s exactly what it feels like,” Graf Mack said, “We are very familiar with the theater. We so enjoy the audience that comes to experience the magic of Ailey. We are bringing new works so that those who come year after year can experience something new. We are bringing works that have been curated by myself and by our associate artistic director, Matthew Rushing, but also, they’ll enjoy our classic works. We’ll end every evening with “Revelations” and we’re also highlighting the voice of Judith Jamison this year. We’ll be performing her duet “A Case of You,” which she choreographed in 2004.”

Additionally, some of the new pieces featured in the upcoming Ailey engagement in Philadelphia will highlight more theatrical elements.

“Two of my favorites are a new work called “Jazz Island,” and that is choreographed by Maija Garcia,” Graf Mack said, “We always want to recognize the artistic voices of female choreographers. Her work was inspired by Geoffrey Holder and Carmen de Lavallade. As you know, we lost Carmen just this December. So, it’s timely that we are performing this work. One of the reasons why I love it is because it’s highly theatricalized, where there’s a story being told that’s based on a story that Geoffrey Holder wrote many years ago called “Black Gods, Green Islands.” Each dancer has a character and has to develop their character and tell a story to the audience.”

“So, I think that’s exciting, and I think it defines again what Mr. Ailey set forth so many years ago, which was that we are Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,” she said. “We always perform very abstracted works of dance, sometimes without any meaning, or meaning that you can kind of interpret on your own, and sometimes we get to perform actual stories, like classical ballet companies who perform “Swan Lake” and “Nutcracker” and [all] these classic fairy tales. We have our own stories to tell. This story is built in the tradition of Caribbean culture and the West Indies. So, we’re very excited to bring that to the stage.”

“Then we have a work called “Difference Between,” and that is choreographed by Matthew Neenan, who actually lives and works in the Philadelphia area,” Graf Mack continued. “He is a longtime collaborator of Ballet X in Philadelphia and someone who I’ve worked with quite extensively over the years. He has a work called “Difference Between,” and this piece is really guided by the incredible music by Heather Christian, who just recently won a MacArthur Genius Award. It’s really about his interpretation of the music. So, lots of new things that we’re bringing, but I would highlight the work of those two because of their connection to Geoffrey, Carmen and to Philadelphia.”

Beyond the stage, Graf Mack continues to expand Ailey’s reach through storytelling in a new medium.

“I started a podcast “Moving Moments” coming out of the pandemic and realizing how I feel so blessed to be able to have friendships and connections with so many groundbreaking artists in our field,” she said. ”So, I wanted to create the podcast to share their incredible stories on how they created moving moments for all of us as audience members and supporters of the performing arts. Now that I’m at Ailey, I am transitioning and now working with Ailey towards a new podcast called “Legacy in Motion with Ailey.”

For more information about Ailey’s touring schedule, about the offerings in the school, podcasts and the PBS documentary on Alvin Ailey’s life called “Portrait of Ailey,” visit: ailey.org. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to the Academy of Music, February 27 – March 1, 2026. Visit ensembleartsphilly.org for more details.