Judith Jamison, a renowned dancer and choreographer who led the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as its artistic director for 20 years, died on Saturday in New York City at the age of 81.

According to a post on the company’s Instagram account, her passing followed a short illness.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jamison began her dance journey at age six, as she detailed in a TED Talk in 2019. She joined Ailey’s modern dance company in 1965, a time when very few Black women were featured in the dance scene in America, and she performed with the company for 15 years.

In 1971, she debuted “Cry,” a 17-minute solo piece dedicated by Ailey “to all Black women everywhere — especially our mothers,” which became one of the company’s hallmark performances, according to its official site.

In his 1995 autobiography, Ailey reflected on Jamison, stating, “with ‘Cry’ she became herself. Once she discovered that connection, that release, she shared her essence with everyone who came to see her perform.”

In addition to her Broadway performances, Jamison established her own dance troupe before eventually returning to the Alvin Ailey company as its artistic director from 1989 until 2011.

“I felt ready to move the company forward. Alvin and I were like tree parts — he was the roots and trunk, and we were the branches. I was his muse. All of us were his muses,” she explained during her TED Talk.

Jamison was celebrated with a Kennedy Center Honor, a National Medal of Arts, and many other accolades.