14-16 Oct 2008. In choreographies by Alvin Ailey, Hans van Manen, Judith Jamison, Twyla Thorpe, George Faison. Since the death of its founder, in 1989, former lead dancer Judith Jamison has not only kept the company going but has polished it to a high sheen, adding works by new choreographers while honouring the original Ailey repertoire. What began in a 1958 with a bunch of young African American dancers in New York backstreets has evolved into an internationally respected institution, with its own school, dance camps for under-privileged youth in four cities and a second touring troupe that eases young performers from the classroom to the stage. All evening programmes feature Ailey