Baltimore’s Jacqueline Green returns home with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Jacqueline Green was a shy, introverted girl growing up in northeast Baltimore, where her biggest self-expression occurred during the holidays when she joined her three sisters and brother to dance to Jackson 5 albums in the family’s home.

“I never really loved dance as a kid,” she said.

But she does now. Green’s passion for dance was ignited during the ballet class she took as a freshman at the Baltimore School for the Arts and it’s burned within her for the past dozen years. Green’s superior skills landed her a job with the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater that’s enabled her to perform on four continents.

Now, she’s set for one of her biggest shows of all.

She’ll be featured when the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater hits The Modell Performing Arts Center at The Lyric on Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., marking the first time she’ll play in her hometown since her dance company last played in Charm City in 2012. Green will be featured during one of the performance’s signature moments – a 15-minute solo act called Cry.

“There’s a lot of pressure since all my family and my friends are going to be there,” Green, 26, said. “I see it as a chance to give my mom a Mother’s Day present. I get the chance to show her how far I’ve come dancing. It will be like this one’s for her.”

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Lyric program will feature Awakening, Robert Battle’s first world premiere since becoming artistic director. The performances also will include world premieres of Open Door by Ronald K. Brown and Exodus by Rennie Harris, as well as the company premiere of Paul Taylor’s Piazzolla Caldera.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from a now-fabled performance in March 1958 at the 92nd Street YMCA in New York City, when Ailey and a group of young African-American modern dancers changed the perception of American dance. The company has performed in front of an estimated 25 million people at theaters in 48 states and 71 countries on six continents, in addition to million of fans who’ve watched on TV.

In 2008, a U.S. Congressional resolution designated the company as “a vital American cultural ambassador to the world” that celebrates the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience and the preservation and enrichment of the American modern dance heritage.

Green received her dance training in high school by Norma Pera, Deborah Robinson, and Anton Wilson.

“I remember when I finally did my first ballet combination without making mistakes, which took some time because I was always messing up,” she said. “I remember by teacher telling me how good of a job I did and to keep moving forward. Ballet made me feel that I’m good at something.”

She went on to earn the Martha Hill Fund’s Young Professional Award in 2009 and the Dizzy Feet Scholarship in 2010 before graduating from the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. Program in Dance and joining the company in 2011.

“My first year I was just learning the ropes,” said Green, who can perform ballet, modern, salsa and hip-hop. “Now that I’m in my fifth year, more is expected from me. I’ve been given more responsibility.”

In 2014, Green received the prestigious Princess Grace Foundation Award and was a nominee last year for The Clives Barnes Foundation Award. She was on the cover of Dance Magazine this year in a feature titled “The WOW factor: Jacqueline Green soars into the Ailey spotlight.”

Now, Green’s happy to be coming home, where she’s looking forward to putting on a show and enjoying a home-cooked meal, her mom’s crab cakes.

“Baltimore is a very big dance city in terms of social dance,” she added. “The hip-hop dancing I did when I went to club with friends has helped me in my career.”

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

When: Tuesday and Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.

Where: The Model Performing Arts Center at The Lyric

Tickets: Click here or call (410) 900-1150