Editor's Note: William Jewell's acclaimed Harriman Arts Program celebrates its 40th anniversary season during 2004-05. The program has grown from a two-event series in 1965 to the region's most heralded performing arts presenting program. In the interview below, program founder and artistic director Dr. Richard Harriman '53 recalls the Kansas City debut of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre on the series in the turbulent spring of 1968. The performance was held in Gano Chapel on March 12, just weeks before the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Achieve: How did you become aware of the Ailey company?

Richard Harriman: I had received some reviews from their management company, and they were all excellent. We presented the company on their first transcontinental tour in 1968, so I hadn't had an opportunity to see them at that point.

Achieve: What was the reaction to that first performance?

Richard Harriman: It was a wonderful response—the audience loved them. They performed their signature work, Revelations, a suite of dances that Alvin Ailey had set to African-American spirituals, along with some other works. Ailey himself was not with the company for that performance, although he was here on some subsequent appearances. Judith Jamison, who is now the company's artistic director, was one of the featured dancers. We knew immediately that we wanted to have them back on the series. [The company was featured on the Program in 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1984 and 1986.]

Achieve: What were your personal impressions of that first performance?

Richard Harriman: Ailey's choreography—particularly Revelations—was absolutely striking and original. And the dancers were exceptional. We had them on the series simply because they were so good. We received our first matching grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to present the company on the Series. William Jewell was among the first college arts programs to receive the grant, which was also awarded that first year to schools such as Dartmouth and the University of California at Berkeley.

Achieve: How did the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey come about, and what was your role with that organization?

Richard Harriman: Alvin Ailey had always wanted to establish a second home for his company, and Allan Gray of Kansas City wanted to help make that happen. Allan spoke with Ailey and eventually put together a board for the organization. I served on that board, along with a number of others from Kansas City who had an interest in the Ailey company. The group has helped to bring the company to Kansas City for regular performances. We also established the Ailey Camps, which teach disadvantaged youth about dance. It has been a very successful program that has been emulated in other cities.

In a joint observance of the 40th anniversary of William Jewell's Harriman Arts Program and the 20th anniversary of the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, a “Legacy Performance” of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will be presented on the Harriman series, in cooperation with the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey, at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 18 at the Music Hall in downtown Kansas City. For ticket information, call 816-415-5025, or toll-free at 888-528-5521, or visit the program's web site at www.harrimanarts.org.