Auditorium Theatre 2019-2020 Alvin Ailey

WHO’S WHO IN THE COMPANY Dance Magazine, Island Origins Magazine, Boston Magazine, and the Improper Bostonian. Ms. Pereyra is a certified SAFE® FLOOR coach. She assisted Matthew Rushing with Uptown for the Company in 2009 and joined in 2011. JESSICA AMBER PINKETT (Baltimore, MD) began her dance training at Baltimore Dance Tech under the direction of Stephanie Powell. Ms. Pinkett is a proud graduate from George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. She is a bronze medal recipient from the NAACP ACT- SO competition in Dance. Ms. Pinkett has worked with choreographers including Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Kirven Douthit-Boyd, Ray Mercer, Darrell Grand Moultrie, and others. She has performed as a guest artist with The Black Iris Project and was a member of Ailey II. From Towson University, she graduated with honors and earned a BFA in dance performance and choreography. Ms. Pinkett has been featured in campaigns for Coach, Equinox Hotels, and Jesus Christ Superstar. Ms. Pinkett joined the company in 2018. Instagram: @jessica.a.pinkett MIRANDA QUINN (Baltimore, MD) trained in various genres of dance from the ages of 2 to 18 at Mid-Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts under the artistic direction of Shannon Torres. Ms. Quinn recently graduated from The Juilliard School while under the newly appointed direction of Alicia Graf Mack. Her attendance at the school was made possible by the Jerome L. Grene Fellowship. She has had the privilege to work in creation processes with Austin McCormick, Aszure Barton, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Roy Assaf, and Stephanie Batten Bland. She has also had the opportunity to perform repertory of Nacho Duato, Merce Cunningham, and Alejandro Cerrudo. Ms. Quinn is beyond thrilled and honored to become part of the Ailey family and legacy. JAMAR ROBERTS (Miami, FL) graduated from the New World School of the Arts. He trained at the Dance Empire of Miami, where he continues to teach, and as a fellowship student at The Ailey School. Mr. Roberts was a member of Ailey II and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. Dance Magazine featured Mr. Roberts as one of “25 to Watch” in 2007 and on the cover in 2013. He performed at The White House in 2010, and as a guest star on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars , and The Ellen Degeneres Show . In 2015, he made his Ailey II choreographic debut with his work Gêmeos , set to the music of Afrobeat star Fela Kuti. His first work for the Company, Members Don’t Get Weary , premiered in 2017. Mr. Roberts won Outstanding Performer at the prestigious Bessie Awards and was a guest star with London’s Royal Ballet. He first joined the Company in 2002 and was named the first Ailey resident choreographer in 2019. KANJI SEGAWA (Kanagawa, Japan) began modern dance training with his mother, Erika Akoh, and studied ballet with Kan Horiuchi and Ju Horiuchi in Tokyo. In 1997, Mr. Segawa came to the U.S. under the Japanese Government Artist Fellowship to train at The Ailey School. Mr. Segawa was a member of Ailey II from 2000–2002 and Battleworks Dance Company from 2002–2010. Mr. Segawa worked extensively with choreographer Mark Morris from 2004–2011, repeatedly appearing with Mark Morris Dance Group, including as a principal dancer in John Adams’ Nixon in China at The Metropolitan Opera. In addition, Mr. Segawa has worked closely with choreographer Jessica Lang since 1999, assisting her on new creations for American Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and The National Ballet of Japan, among others, and staging her work on companies, universities, and schools around the world. Mr. Segawa joined the Company in 2011. GLENN ALLEN SIMS (Long Branch, NJ) began classical dance training at the Academy of Dance Arts in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, and was a scholarship student to The Ailey School’s Summer Intensive. Mr. Sims attended The Juilliard School under Benjamin Harkarvy. In 2004, Mr. Sims was the youngest person to be inducted into the Long Branch High School’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame. He has been featured on several network television programs, including BET Honors, Dancing with the Stars, The Ellen DeGeneres Show , and So You Think You Can Dance. Mr. Sims is a master teacher, certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor, and certified pilates mat instructor. He has performed as an international guest artist for galas in Rome, Italy, and Mexico City, Mexico, as well as at the White House Dance Series and for the king of Morocco. Mr. Sims was featured on the cover of and wrote a featured guest blog for Dance Magazine. He has originated featured roles by Carmen de Lavallade, Judith Jamison, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Mauro Bigonzetti, Rennie Harris, and Ronald K. Brown. Mr. Sims joined the Company in 1997. LINDA CELESTE SIMS (Bronx, NY) began training at Ballet Hispánico School of Dance and graduated from LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts. She has won Arts Recognition in 1994, Outstanding Performance at the 2014 Bessie Awards, received the 2016 Inspiración Award from Ballet Hispánico, received the 2017 Dance Magazine Award, and was honored this year at BAAD’s 20th Anniversary. Ms. Sims has been featured in Dance Magazine, New York Amsterdam News, and Refinery29 and on So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Mo’Nique Show, LIVE with Kelly and Michael, and The Today Show . Ms. Sims has appeared at the White House Series, Youth America Grand Prix, Vail International Dance Festival, Evidence Dance Company; at galas in Budapest, Vienna and Rome; and has originated roles by Judith Jamison, Donald Byrd, Alonzo King, Dwight Rhoden, Ronald K. Brown, Mauro Bigonzetti, Jennifer Muller, Karole Armitage, Lynn Taylor Corbett, Rennie Harris, Christopher L. Huggins, and Aszure Barton. She teaches master classes worldwide and is a certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor. Ms. Sims joined the Company in 1996 and is the Assistant to the Rehearsal Director. COURTNEY CELESTE SPEARS (Baltimore, MD) of Bahamian descent, began formal training at the Baltimore School for the Arts under the direction of Norma Pera. She is a graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, where she graduated summa cum laude with degrees in dance and communications. Ms. Spears has attended summer intensives at The Juilliard School, Cedar Lake, and American Ballet Theatre, where she was named the National Training Scholar for two consecutive years. She has performed works by Ray Mercer, Jae Man Joo, Rennie Harris, Jessica Lang, and Dwight Rhoden. She was recognized on the cover of Howard Magazine as a “Rising Young Star” and received The Denise Jefferson Memorial Scholarship. Ms. Spears is the recipient of a 2015 Dance Fellowship from the Princess Grace Foundation-USA and is the founder and director of ArtSea Dance, an outreach program and dance management company based in the Bahamas. She was a member of Ailey II and joined the Company in 2018. Instagram: @bahamaballerina 22 | ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER | MARCH 4-8, 2020