Alvin Ailey at 18th and Vine… and under the Christmas tree

 

This summer, hundreds of Barbie collectors converged on Kansas City for their annual pink-tinged, collectors’ convention. It wasn’t the first time KC has won the hearts of these lovers of dolls with impossibly porcelain skin and the proportions of a rock star bound for rehab.  

In 1995, Mattel partnered with Hallmark to release a Holiday Memories Barbie commemorating the card-making corporation’s 85th anniversary. The dapper doll, evoking the style when Hallmark got its start, was dressed in a “white flared jacket … trimmed in brown faux fur at the collar and cuffs” and wore brown knee-high boots. Apparently, it’s still a sought-after commodity.   

In time for this Christmas, another Barbie with a Kansas City connection is in stores. Mattel has released an Alvin Ailey doll in honor of the dance company’s 50th anniversary. No, it’s not the famed choreographer himself but rather a rendering of Judith Jamison, the company’s most prominent dancer and the woman who took the reins after Ailey’s death. According to promotional materials, the Jamison toy is “taking the stage in a soaring leap … in the ‘Wade in the Water’ section of Alvin Ailey’s masterpiece.” 

The special edition Barbies are for sale on the dance company’s Web site. For kids who aren’t into dolls, though, the Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey has another gift idea for aspiring young dancers. This Saturday, the KCFAA is holding a free class titled Modern Jazz and Ballet Basics at 2:30 p.m. at the American Jazz Museum. — Carolyn Szczepanski