Melanie Person
Melanie Person (born 1965 in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American dancer, choreographer, and educator who began her career at 14 as a "baby ballerina" with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She is currently the co-director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's Ailey School, with Tracy Inman.[1][2]
Early life
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Person, who is
Career
During her dance career traveling around the world with DTH, Person performed in a wide repertoire that included ballets by
Denise Jefferson, the director of The Ailey School—official school of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater—invited Person to join the institution as a ballet instructor in 1999. A year later Person took over as chairperson of the ballet department and became co-director of the school's junior division with Tracy Inman. In 2009 she was named an associate director. Following Jefferson's death in 2010, Person and Inman were appointed co-directors of The Ailey School.[14]
Leading The Ailey School
Since ascending to co-directorship, Person has collaborated with Robert Battle—artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater—on recruiting for and running his choreographic lab,[15] spearheaded the Ailey/Fordham BFA Benefit concert,[16][17] served as a judge or chairwoman of the jury for the Youth American Grand Prix,[18] Japan Grand Prix,[19] Seoul International Dance competition, Dance Prix de New York,[20] & the West Virginia Dance Festival,[21] sat on the board of directors for the National Association of Schools of Dance,[22] and taken over the national audition tour for the school's summer intensive and Ailey/Fordham University BFA Program alongside her co-director Tracy Inman and tour adjudicator Lakey Evans-Peña.[23][24][25]
As part of Dance Theatre of Harlem's 45th anniversary, Person and her former leading ballerina colleagues were honoured by the company in a dance tribute at New York City Center.[26] In tandem with Joan Myers Brown, Donald Byrd, Natasha Hulme, and April Magen, she sits on the advisory board of Memoirs of Blacks in Ballet.[27]
References
- ^ "Comings & Goings". Dance Magazine. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "News: In Memoriam". Dance Teacher. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ Gray, Karen (March 1, 1977). Ebony Jr. Johnson Publishing Company. pp. 38–39.
- ^ "What The Ailey School's Melanie Person Knew When She Was Twelve". www.danceadvantage.net. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "9 DTH Alumni Who Are Continuing Arthur Mitchell's Legacy Today". Dance Magazine. 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions | Arthur Mitchell: Harlem's Ballet Trailblazer". exhibitions.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Dance Theatre of Harlem - Virginia Johnson". Dance Theatre of Harlem. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "News: Atlanta's Juel D. Lane selected for Alvin Ailey's New Directions Choreography Lab". ARTS ATL. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Ailey Host Fordham BFA Benefit Performance". The Observer. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ II, Juan Michael Porter; ContributorArts; Writer, Culture; Post, The Huffington (2017-11-18). "Glory Reigns at Ailey/Fordham BFA Concert: REVIEW". HuffPost. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
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has generic name (help) - ^ "Melanie Person | Youth America Grand Prix Ballet competition". Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Japan Grand Prix | Judges". www.jjgp.jp. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Melanie Person – Dance Prix de New York". Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Melanie Person". www.wvculture.org. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Melanie Person". National Association of Schools of Dance. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "THE AILEY SCHOOL NAMES TRACY INMAN AND MELANIE PERSON AS CO-DIRECTORS". www.dance.nyc. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Dancers try out for NYC's Ailey School". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Socioeconomic status and dance". Dance Informa Magazine. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "Dance Theatre of Harlem: Celebrating diversity, dancing beyond barriers". amsterdamnews.com. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
- ^ "About Us – MOBBallet.org". mobballet.org. Retrieved 2019-07-31.