Jamison made her premiere with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater at Chicago's Harper Theater Dance Festival in 1965 in "Congo Tango Palace", and in 1966, she toured Europe and Africa with the company. 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. Unfortunately, soon afterward, financial complications forced Ailey to put his company on a temporary hiatus. During this time, Jamison danced with Harkness Ballet and served as an assistant to the artistic director. However, she immediately returned to Alvin Ailey Dance Theater when the company re-formed in 1967. Jamison spent the next thirteen years dancing with Alvin Ailey Dance Theater and 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. She danced quite a bit in Germany, which she says became her "second home". Throughout her performance career with the company she danced in many of Ailey's most renowned works, including "Blues Suite" and "Revelations".