Melanie Person began her early dance training in Jackson, Mississippi at age six. Upon moving to Columbia, South Carolina a few years later, she continued her dance training at the Calvert-Brodie School of Dance while performing with the Columbia City Ballet. In the winter of 1976, by recommendation of her teacher Ann Brodie, Ms. Person auditioned for the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) Summer Intensive and was offered a full scholarship. Upon completion of that summer program, she became an apprentice to the professional company and, in 1979, became a full member at the age of 16 after graduating from Professional Children's School. For 12 years, Ms. Person performed with DTH, traveling around the world performing a diverse repertoire. She performed choreography by artistic luminaries including George Balanchine, Geoffrey Holder, Agnes de Mille, Glen Tetley, Garth Fagan and Arthur Mitchell, DTH’s Founder and Artistic Director. Her television credits include performances in NBC’s presentation of DTH’s Creole Giselle, CBS 60 Minutes with Ed Bradley featuring DTH, the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Olympics and the PBS presentation of Live at the Kennedy Center The Making of Firebird. She later went on to earn her B.A. from SUNY Empire State College. In 1999, Denise Jefferson invited her to join the PPAS ballet faculty at The Ailey School and in 2000, Ms. Jefferson appointed her as the Co-Director of the Junior Division alongside Tracy Inman. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Person was made Chair of the ballet department and President of the Emergency Fund for Student Dancers. Ms. Person has been on the faculty of the Dance Theatre of Harlem School, the Ballet Hispánico School, Marymount Manhattan College, Purchase College and as a teaching artist in the New York City Public School System. She is a member of the Council of Dance Administrators, Board of Directors for the National Association of Schools of Dance, and Prix de Lausanne’s 50th anniversary jury panel. Additionally, she has taught as a guest at The Flint Institute of Music, Dance Institute of Washington, Boston Ballet School, and The Adaclam School in French Guyana. Ms. Person has served as an adjudicator for the Youth American Grand Prix and Japan Grand Prix. In 2009, she was named Associate Director of The Ailey School and in 2010, Co-Director with Tracy Inman after Ms. Jefferson’s passing. For over a decade, Ms. Person has been a supervisor of the New Directions Choreography Lab working with Ailey’s Artistic Director Robert Battle to provide opportunities for the next generation of choreographers and dance artists.
The partnership between Fordham and the Ailey School has grown into one of the preeminent BFA dance programs in the country. Its graduates—inspired by Alvin Ailey’s trailblazing, humanist vision—have used their holistic education to make an impact in the arts and beyond.
The story took flight with a chance encounter at the 60th Street post office in Manhattan. It was the mid-'90s and Denise Jefferson, then head of The Ailey School, and Edward Bristow, then dean of Fordham College at Lincoln Center, would often bump into each other in the neighborhood. At that point, both schools were already looking for ways to expand their relationship, and Jefferson had previously floated the idea of starting a BFA program. While standing in line to buy stamps, Bristow says, their friendly chitchat set in motion an idea to form a planning committee tasked with creating a BFA program that would change the lives of scores of young dancers.
For years, young dancers fresh out of high school who wanted to continue their training were faced with a choice: Join a trainee program or enroll as a dance major at a four-year university. Nowadays, the options are vast, ranging from one-year postgraduate training programs and second company positions to unique partnerships between lauded dance academies and colleges. As attitudes around dancers going to college have shifted, aspiring professionals now have a host of paths to choose from.
