[6] By the age of eight, Jamison began dancing en pointe and started taking classes in tap, acrobatics, and Dunham technique (which was referred to as "primitive").

She studied with Delores Brown Abelson, a graduate of Judimar who pursued a performance career in New York City before returning to Philadelphia to teach.

Throughout high school, Jamison was also a member of numerous sports organizations, the Glee Club, and the Philadelphia String Ensemble.

During this time, she also learned the Horton technique from Joan Kerr, which required great strength, balance, and concentration.

[10] In 1964, after seeing Jamison in a master class, Agnes de Mille invited her to come to New York City to perform in a new work that she was choreographing for American Ballet Theatre, The Four Mary's.

Jamison had always had a strong interest in African identity; therefore, traveling to Africa with the company and having the opportunity to observe the culture first-hand was an exciting and valuable experience for her.

[5] "A performer of great intelligence, warmth and wit," said The New York Times,[5] Jamison learned over seventy ballets.

"With Ailey's troupe, Jamison did many U.S. State Department tours of Europe, going behind the Iron Curtain as well as into Asia and Turkey.

[1] Throughout her performance career with the company, she danced in many of Ailey's most renowned works, including Blues Suite and Revelations.

It celebrates the journey of a woman coming out of a troubled and painful world and finding the strength to overcome and conquer.

Jamison danced alongside many renowned dancers, including the ballet legend Mikhail Baryshnikov, in a duet, Pas de Duke, choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1976.

The Project premiered on November 15, 1988, at the Joyce Theater in New York City, performing works such as Divining, Time Out, and Tease.

Upon Ailey's death, on December 1, 1989, she assumed the role of artistic director and dedicated the next 21 years of her life to the company's success.