After receiving an assignment for one of my writing courses to write a biography about someone who had passed away last year, I returned to my dorm and began searching who had died in 2015. I narrowed my search down to dancers maybe because, as a dancer myself, I connect with their stories. I found Dudley Williams. After researching and writing about his life, Williams has become a great inspiration to me and has influenced my philosophy of life and dance.
Dudley Williams, dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for over forty years, was the company’s oldest member and one of their most famous dancers. While most dancers retire in their thirties, he danced until he passed away at seventy-six on May 31, 2015. Williams seemed to defy human limitations of an aging body and the wear and tear of muscles dancers experience early in life.
Into his old age, Williams danced because he needed to dance, the perfect example of having the life force, the quickening Martha Graham found in dance. Critics and audiences alike saw Williams’s movements as effortless but with the weight of emotion and knowledge only someone with years of experience could bring on stage. He understood the nature of dance -- how the body moves and matching it with the rhythm of the music to create a story.
Williams knew that foremost he was human, and as a modern dancer, he wanted his movements to appear natural and true to human experiences and emotions. He taught dancers, young and old, his philosophy of dance as an art form, carrying modern dance tradition into every generation. Williams, who had invested his life to dance, has left a lasting legacy within the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the world of dance.
Williams has shown me how important it is to continue doing what you love and what makes you happy despite the obstacles before you. He shared his love for dance and what he had learned with those younger than he. Williams knew what he wanted, and he worked hard and refused to quit.
Below are quotations from Williams quoted in the New York Times article, “Dudley Williams, Eloquent Dancer Who Defied Age, Dies at 76 ,” I connected with as a dancer while researching.
“I feel that God has given me a gift,” he said, “and if you don’t use it, shame on you.”
“You can’t just put your hand out,” he said. “You have to know what happens when you put your hand out and your body goes with it. And I dance to the music, no matter what it is. I stretch my whole body — you have fingers, so use them — to every plink of the piano. You must listen to the music and love it, and then you can do the dance differently every time.”
“I had a need to dance and I still do.”
“It’s a hunger — doing it until you do it right,” he added. “It’s a nervousness that puts me on the stage, it’s palms sweating, feet sweating, wondering, ‘Am I going to hit this position?’”
“You’re always striving for a perfect performance. And that will never happen. When it does happen, that’s when I think you should give it up. The challenge is gone.”
