Influential African American Dancers

A tribute to legendary dance performers over the years.

Gregory Hines  - The late Gregory Hines came from a family of dancers including his older brother, Maurice, and father, Maurice Hines, Sr. More than just a dancer, Hines was lead singer in a rock band and went on to a successful acting career before his death from liver caner in 2003.(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Alvin Ailey - Decades after its founding and his death, the dance troupe he started (and named for him) remains among the most popular performing arts companies in the world. It still performs routines he choreographed. (Photo: Michael Evans/New York Times Co./Getty Images)
George Faison  - A former member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, George Faison was the first African-American to win a Tony Award in choreography for his work on The Wiz. Faison added another trophy to his mantle when he won an Emmy Award for the HBO special The Josephine Baker Story. (Photo: Brian Killian/Getty Images)Judith Jamison - Judith Jamison, the artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, has kept Ailey?s legacy alive long after his death. Jamison joined the dance company in 1965 before returning in 1989, after which she choreographed numerous performances.(Photo: Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)

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Gregory Hines - The late Gregory Hines came from a family of dancers including his older brother, Maurice, and father, Maurice Hines, Sr. More than just a dancer, Hines was lead singer in a rock band and went on to a successful acting career before his death from liver caner in 2003.(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

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