Dudley Eugene Williams (August 18, 1938 - May, 2015) was an American modern dancer who performed with the

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT) is a modern dance company based in New York City. It was founded in 1958 by choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey. It is made up of 32 dancers, led by artistic director Robert Battle and associate a ...

from 1964 to 2005.

Early life and education

Dudley Eugene Williams was born in

East Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, on August 18, 1938. His father was carpenter Ivan Leroy Williams and his mother Austa (nee Beckles). After his initial application for admission to the music division to study piano was submitted past the deadline date, he enrolled for dance at the

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was m ...

in New York, graduating in 1958.

Early career

Straight after graduation, Williams established The Corybantes, a dance troupe which toured union halls and army bases. He performed in the companies of

Talley Beatty Talley Beatty (22 December 1918 – 29 April 1995) was born in Cedar Grove, Louisiana, a section of Shreveport, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He is considered one of the greatest of African American choreographers, and also bears the titles dan ...

Donald McKayle Donald McKayle (July 6, 1930 – April 6, 2018) was an American modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and '60s that focus on expressing the human con ...

, and

May O'Donnell May O'Donnell (May 1, 1906 – February 1, 2004) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Born in Sacramento, California, May O'Donnell studied dance in San Francisco with Estelle Reed and performed in Reed's company before moving to New ...

, attended

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

for a short time, and joined the

Martha Graham Dance Company The Martha Graham Dance Company, founded in 1926, is known for being the oldest American dance company. Founded by Martha Graham as a contemporary dance company, it continued to perform pieces, revive classics, and train dancers even after Graham's ...

in 1961 on a scholarship.

With Alvin Ailey

Williams joined the Alvin Ailey Company in 1963, after being asked to replace a dancer who quit just before a tour, and danced with both Ailey and Graham for some years. He became best known for the solo "I Wanna Be Ready" in the Ailey masterwork "Revelations", and for the dance "Love Songs," a 16-minute solo created for him by Ailey in 1972. His final performance with the Ailey Company took place on May 8, 2005. He was the longest active member of the Ailey company. Ailey tried to persuade him to become his assistant, but Williams preferred to dance. Williams was praised for his "flowing, musical style, magnetism and stage presence."

Other work

Williams performed as a featured dancer for the

Eleo Pomare Dance Company Eleo Pomare (20 October 1937 – 8 August 2008) was a Colombian-American modern dance choreographer. Known for his politically-charged productions depicting the Black experience, his work had a major influence on contemporary dance, especially Bla ...

, having met Pomare when both were students at the High School of Performing Arts.

Later life and death

After retiring from the Ailey Company, Williams continued to teach at the Ailey School. In 1996,Jacob's Pillow.org
Retrieved March 11, 2021 with Carmen de Lavallade and

Gus Solomons Jr. Gus Solomons Jr. (born 27 April 1940) is an accomplished dancer, choreographer, dance critic, and actor. He is a leading figure in postmodern and experimental dance. Dancer Gus Solomons Jr., born and raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, began his s ...

, he co-founded and performed with Paradigm, a dance company devoted to showcasing mature dancers. Williams was featured in the 2016 Rohan Spong documentary ''Winter at Westbeth.'' He died in May 2015 in his

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

apartment at age 76.

References

External links

* (1:20:18)
Dudley Williams: Dancer
(Interview, August 2013. Westbeth Home to the Arts) {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Dudley 1938 births 2015 deaths American male dancers African-American male dancers American modern dancers Juilliard School alumni 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people