Discussing the Therapeutic Energy of Dance with Alvin Ailey’s Jacqueline Green

 

 (Photography by Eric Politzer)

How would you describe Jacqueline Green for those unfamiliar with your work and brand?

For those unfamiliar with me and what I do, I am Jacqueline Green, more widely known as a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. I am an artist who chooses to leave her mark on the world through dance. I guess my brand would be myself. My mission with the gift of dance is to always make the audience feel something, think something, or experience something that changes their outlook on life. I believe that art and artists should reflect society, and encourage others to see the world in new ways. I also believe that dance artists are divine storytellers and their superpower is being able to make someone feel something without saying a word.

 

When did you realize that you wanted to pursue dance as a profession?

I knew I wanted to pursue dance as a profession only after realizing that it was something that a black girl from Baltimore City could actually strive for. I have a dance mentor named Linda-Denise Fisher-Harell, and she was the first representation of a black female dancer being paid to travel around the world and do what she loves. After meeting her, dance became more than just a hobby; it became something I started to want as a career. Representation is very important; it allows you to see so many more possibilities.

 (Photography by Andrew Eccles)

 

What lead you into your decision to Dance for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater?

So many reasons!! I have always loved dancing, traveling, and history. Dancing with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater allows me to experience all of those things. Part of Mr. Ailey’s genius is his brilliance in making theatricalized versions of black American history, and doing it in a way that touches all people from many different walks of life.
His ballets are dance versions of history books. His most famous work ‘Revelations’ is a historic piece in and of itself. He is quoted many times for saying that revelations is a work created from his own “blood memories” growing up in the black church in rural Texas in the 1930s. I wanted to dance for this company specifically because although I didn’t grow up and rural Texas in the 1930s, I could relate to growing up as a black person in this country and as a black person who grew up going to church. I felt much more connected to his works than the classical ballets, like Swan Lake or Gisele.

 

 

As a performer it can become difficult to make a repetitive routine fresh night after night to an audience as well as yourself. How do you balance the energy of creativity when looking for new ways to tell your story through dance on stage while remaining true to the original content?

My job can be very repetitive, as we are known to tour a lot through the year, up to 8 months, but I believe this allows room for growth. I’ve been in the company now for 10 years and although I’ve performed some pieces over 500 times, dancing them now feels completely different from when I did in my first year in the company. We do perform a lot of the same works, but nothing is ever really the same. It’s all in the beauty of live theater. Every day is different, every city is different, every audience is different, who you’re dancing with may be different, how you wake up every day is different, how you feel doing that exact step at that exact moment is different than the last time you’ve done it, etc. All these things make every performance unique and special in its own way. As long as I’m true and honest with what the intention of the ballet is that I’m performing, I don’t need to look for new ways to tell a story, life gives me new ways to tell that story.

 (Photography by Paul Kolnik during performance of “Members Don’t Get Weary”)

 

In the discussion of dance as an art a lot of people overlook the energetic value of dance as a tool of healing from past traumatic experiences, as well as a method of meditation for overall mental health. How have you used your expression of movement as a therapeutic source of mental rejuvenation?

Dance is definitely a form of meditation. Meditation is all about being present, and in dance you have to be super present. You have to be focused on what you’re doing at that very moment. And while you’re focusing on being in the present moment, you have to be completely honest with yourself. If you believe something and you are committed, then the audience, will believe it as well. That’s when your honesty, and your bravery in being honest, can change lives.

I use dance as meditation, and sometimes I really need it. I never refer to Dance as my “job” because it is so much more than that. Dance encourages me to be vulnerable and brave, and rewards me when I authentically express myself. Not many careers allow for you to be able to express so much of your emotional/spiritual self through the work that you do. Having a way to vent my frustrations and joys with what’s going on in my world and in the world, is a great form of therapy. It requires me to be emotionally honest and allows me to physically release my emotions. With my art, I’m able to turn dark moments into something beautiful.

 

African Americans have a very rich and unique history in dance connecting into the African Diaspora as well as in Tribal Rituals and Ancestral Communication. How do you feel a person of color can use Modern Dance today as a method of connecting more into themselves as well as into their cultural heritage?

When our ancestors, the enslaved African peoples, were brought to this country, they were not allowed to bring with them their material possessions. All they had was what they had on their bodies, and in their minds. Dance is something that can be transported and transferred through locations, situations, and generations. I definitely believe that modern dance is a form of African retentions. For example, in some tribes dance was a form of storytelling, and it is the same today. I am a dancer who chooses to tell my story through dance, so I feel very connected to those ancestors.

 (Photography by Howard Schatz)

The Professional Dance Industry (and Entertainment Industry in general) has a reputation for being extremely cut throat and critical when it comes to not only race but body image as well. Have you faced any adversity as a woman based upon your race and/or body structure? If so how did you overcome those obstacles and remain self confident in those moments?

In this industry you are super aware of what you look like and how others see you. You have to be able to fit either a role, a look, a costume, a type, or any other thing needed for the choreographer, writer, casting director, producer, or who ever hires you. This categorization is just a reflection of mainstream society and what people think society values. I have received the comments where people were shocked that I was a good dancer because I was a black girl, or because I had scoliosis, or because of where and how I grew up. These comments just make me work harder because some people lack the representation of seeing someone like me making it as far as I have by being who I am and doing what I do.
A lot of my determination comes from my faith. I know that God wouldn’t have given me this gift of dance, if He didn’t want me to go out and shake things up. For me, working hard and being great at what I do could be necessary for the person who’s never imagined someone like me doing what I do, or necessary for the person who sees themselves in me and needed to experience that beautiful side of representation. I dance because I want to move people emotionally, and make people think and feel differently.

 

In what ways do you feel the art of dance can help young children in its correlation to mental health and awareness?

I think Dance is a great tool for the young. Dance gives people a sense of physical self-esteem and awareness. It teaches them about their emotions and requires them to be honest with themselves. It teaches them time management, structure, how to work with others, and how to work to achieve something. With all that is gives, it also rewards hard work and discipline. In all, it gives a sense of purpose.

 (Photography by James Parker)

What inspires you as a dancer?

LOL so many things. Life is my biggest inspiration. If you never live life how are you able to go on stage and show it through dance? For example, if you’ve never experienced sadness, then how can you go on stage and show sadness? The audience can relate to the emotion of sadness more than they can relate to an arabesque (dancer terminology). It’s the same with any emotion whether it is joy, love, frustration, anger, excitement, etc. You have to live and experience life in order to be honest within those emotions.

 

What does the future hold for you and your brand?

Who knows LOL! All I know is that I’m going to continue to touch peoples lives through dance and any other avenue that is presented to me. For now I am still dancing with my company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and continue to be honest and impeccable with my word and with what I present to the world.

 

If you would like to see more of Jacqueline Green you can find her on Instagram @jagreen711 or visit https://www.alvinailey.org/ to find out more information on how to support the theatre and gain access to her upcoming performances. 

(Featured Image of Jacqueline Green in Alvin’s Ailey “Cry” is photographed by Paul Kolnik)