With a foot that pointed like a dagger and the gracefulness of a gazelle George Faison is known as one of ballets most memorable and powerful dancers.

George Faison was a very good dancer in his day and he probably still is, but these days he’s attempting to give the youth of Harlem the chance to experience what he experienced through his “Firehouse”. Located at 135 W. 124th street, Mr. Faison bought the Faison Firehouse in the year 2000, a project giving young adults the chance to express themselves through arts and culture. George Faison puts on a multitude of events at the Firehouse, ranging from church services to an 80-seat cabaret in the basement of the Firehouse.

We had the opportunity to sit down and interview this accomplished man for HarlemLive, to find out if he still had the dancer in him. George chose the historic building because he felt at the time, “Harlem was being under served.” Harlem was not as gentrified as it is today, but back then Faison was a pioneer trying to make Harlem a better community. Harlem already had an artistic background through the renaissance, Faison just wanted to add to its history.

Faison says his inspiration to get into the dancing world came when he saw the Alvin Ailey dance company, though he was only 19 years old and living in Washington, DC, he was immediately interested in the way they danced and the things that they did. At that moment he was enrolled in Howard University, which he boasts, “had an illustrious history for colored people.”  After seeing Alvin Ailey Faison knew exactly what he wanted to do.

George found immediate success after moving to New York City. He joined the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and began touring the world with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder. George left the A.A.D.C. to pursue his dream of having his own company that he then founded. He named it The George Faison Universal Dance Experience. With this new group he choreographed and won a Tony Award for his work on The Wiz. Later he won an Emmy award for his work on the Josephine Baker Story for HBO.

In the 2000’s, Mr. Faison founded The Respect Project, a program where he places young adults in plays and gives them theater experience. The Project is a continuous work in progress. “When I bought the Firehouse, I didn’t think I would have to build it too,” he explained.  “The Firehouse has been under construction since I bought it.”  The Firehouse is a staple in the community, guarded by a German Sheppard named Ruby, the Firehouse is even going to celebrate the 85th birthday of James Baldwin.

Faison plans to continue to help the community. He has done many important things with the youth of Harlem to help better equip them for real life experiences.  We never found out if he could still dance, but he’s doing so much more for the community, I guess it doesn’t matter.