Renee Robinson
Principal Dancer, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Renee Robinson began her dance training in classical ballet at the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet. She was the recipient of two Ford Foundation scholarships to the School of American Ballet and was awarded full scholarships to the Dance Theater of Harlem and The Ailey School. Ms. Robinson was a member of the Alvin Ailey II before becoming a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1981.
Robinson, in her career has been “lauded as one of the Ailey Company’s technical powerhouses who’s sophisticated style and physical beauty matched her beautiful line.” Over her professional career she has worked with some of the worlds most renowned choreographers like: Alvin Ailey, Lar Lubovitch, Donald McKayle, Judith Jamison, Ulysses Dove, Jerome Robbins, Bill T. Jones, Garth Fagan, Katherine Dunham, Hans van Manen and Carmen de Lavallade.
Robinson continues to perform with the Alvin Ailey company. Robinson has also been performing at the televised performance of the Kennedy Center Awards in front of The President of the United States. Other televised appearances include performing at President Clinton’s first inauguration, American Express advertisements, Bill Cosby Special on Alvin Ailey and on the PBS special “A Hymm for Alvin Ailey”. In 2003, she performed at the White House State Dinner in honor of the President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki
Select Performance Pieces
(Choreographer, Ballet)
- Alvin Ailey, Blues Suite
- Alvin Ailey, Revelations
- Alvin Ailey, Maskela Langage
- Alvin Ailey, Cry
- Donald McKayle, Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder
- Alvin Ailey, Night Creature
- George Fasion, Suite Otis
- Ulysses Dove, Bad Blood
- Ulysses Dove, Vespers
- Ulysses Dove, Episodes
- Judith Jamison, Forgotten Time
- Billy Wilson, The Winter of Lisbon
- Judith Jamison, Hymm
- Ronald K. Brown, Grace
- Carmen de Lavallade, Sweet Bitter Love
Performance Reviews
The New York Times (December 9, 2000) By Jennifer Dunning
Who would have thought that the demure Renee Robinson could be as funny as she was as the cool tease in Ailey's classic "Blues Suite"? Her show-stealing performance was also a model of subtle acting and finely observed detail in a role that can border on caricature. The 1958 dance, set to traditional songs, depicts the everyday despair and laughter of those who have "been down so long," as one lyric puts it. Despair descends on the dancers toward the end, and Ms. Robinson's face as she gazes out for one long moment almost painfully registered sorrow tinged with hope.
Dance Magazine (December 2000) By Karyn D. Collins
Excerpt from “Ailey Women Find Bond in “Love”
In Robinson, de Lavallade says she sees a dancer whose “maturity” and inner involvement with whatever she is performing” connect with her sense of artistry. “I like her care of detail in her work and how she combines the physical with the internal workings of a piece,” says de Lavallade of Robinson. “She is never satisfied and keeps searching so her performance gets richer and richer.”
Robinson, early in her career, was lauded as one of the Ailey company’s technical powerhouses who sophisticated style and physical beauty matched her beautiful line, honed through years of training at the Jones-Haywood School in her native Washington D.C. In recent years, she’s taken on the mantle, that of the soulful earth mother. Today, the technique is married with a sense of maturity in a variety of roles-from the proud woman of Ailey’s Cry to the powerful high priestess of Ron K. Brown’s premiere from last season, Grace.
Now marking her eighteenth season with the Ailey company, Robinson is revered within company circles as a mentor. Her presence onstage and off has been a motivational force for newer members of the company.
The New York Times (December 13, 1999) By Jack Andersen
The evening was also notable for Renee Robinson's interpretation of "Cry," Alvin Ailey's tribute to the indomitability of black women. There were times when the archetypal figure Ms. Robinson portrayed in this solo was bent to the earth in sorrow. But Ms. Robinson convincingly revealed that this woman was capable of rising up with courage and determination.