North Charleston native comes home to perform with Alvin Ailey dance theater

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Charleston. The world-famous African American dance troupe performs at the Gaillard Tuesday and Wednesday.

One of the dancers taking the stage is a young woman who grew up in North Charleston. Ashley Green is a 2016 graduate of the Charleston County School of the Arts.

“Being a part of this company full of beautiful, beautiful, excellent black people has been like something that I have dreamed of for years,” Green said.

Ever since she was a young girl, Green has wanted to be a part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She was about seven when she drew a doodle, proclaiming her love for the legendary African American dance troupe.

“That was like the first time I was like seeing black dancers like really doing it professionally. And I was like, oh my gosh I want to dance with them. Like that is my goal,” Green said.

And in July 2021, she reached that goal. Her dream came true.

So, when she’s on the stage performing, what is that like?

“I sometimes, I feel like I see angels. I always told my mom, I said I just, sometimes I feel like I see angels when I dance. It takes me to this euphoric place where I feel like I’m floating. And just like, it feels like the stage is my home. And it’s so magical, and I’m really blessed that I get to feel like that because I don’t think that everybody does.”

Green’s parents made lots of sacrifices to ensure she could live out her dream. Road trips to Columbia, Atlanta and other places for practice, training, performances, and competitions. They say it was worth every minute.

“She’s the best, she’s the best, that’s all I can say,” her father, William Green, Jr. said.

“She’s very focused. And this is something that she really wants to do. And she puts her mind to it and she showed us she was going to succeed and so far, so good,” her mother, Andrea Glenn Green said.

Green credits the Charleston County School of the Arts, or S.O.A. for helping to put her on the right path.

“So without S.O.A., I really honestly wouldn’t know half the things I know about modern dance, event auditioning for college it helped prepare me so much to actually be able to go to the auditions and know what they are asking of me.”

Green has this message for other young people, no matter their passion, to keep working toward their dreams.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t think that you’re not good enough at that time. Things change every month, every year. You’re always going to keep getting better if you’re working at some things. Don’t give up,” Green said.

Green is off to an impressive start in her career. She has already won the prestigious Princess Grace Dance Award. She was also named one of the top 25 to watch by Dance Magazine.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater will be performing Tuesday and Wednesday at the Gaillard Center. Click here to buy tickets.

You can watch her full interview here:

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