This Is Love

A black and white photograph of Judith Jamison, a Black woman, dancing “Cry.” She stands on her left leg, her right leg extended in the air to form an angle about ninety degrees wide, toe pointed. Her torso is twisted, her head angled partially toward the floor. Her right arm extends vertically above her head and her left arm forms a straight line just slightly below her right leg. Her full ankle-length white skirt arcs around her, forming an approximate three-quarters circle. She is barefoot and wearing a white long-sleeve leotard with her skirt. Her hair is short. The stage behind her fades to black. Photo credit: Fred Fehl, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library.

Episode 126: Cry

Episode #126

2025-11-19 05:00:29

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In 1971, for his mother’s birthday, Alvin Ailey gave her a ballet. The dance was grueling – sometimes the women who did it bled. “I remember very well seeing my mother on her knees scrubbing these white folks’ rooms and halls. That image is in my ballet ‘Cry.’”

Episode transcript will be posted here as soon as it is available.