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Melanie Person

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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

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Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Person, who is African American, began her ballet studies at the age of six. She continued her training in Columbia, South Carolina at the Calvert-Brodie School of Dance under the tutelage of Ann Brodie. As a child prodigy, she performed with Columbia City Ballet and at the age of 12 was profiled by Ebony Jr. -- the children's edition of Ebony magazine—for her dedication to dance.[3][4] In 1976 she attended the Dance Theatre of Harlem's summer course on scholarship and was asked to join the company as an apprentice at the program's conclusion. In 1979, after graduating from the Professional Children's School early, she was promoted to the corps de ballet at the age of 14.[5]

Career

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During her dance career traveling around the world with DTH, Person performed in a wide repertoire that included ballets by Arthur Mitchell, Agnes de Mille, George Balanchine,[6] Michael Smuin,[7] Bronislava Nijinska,[8] Glen Tetley, Billy Wilson, and re-stagings of Marius Petipa's ballets by Alexandra Danilova and Frederic Franklin.[9][10][11] Person left DTH in 1988 to attain her degree in dance from Empire State College, while continuing to collaborate with her former ballet colleagues Virginia Johnson and Judy Tyrus by creating new choreography for a project called "Developed Dancers Making Dances".[12][13]

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

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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

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  1. ^ "Comings & Goings". Dance Magazine. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  2. ^ "News: In Memoriam". Dance Teacher. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  3. ^ Gray, Karen (March 1, 1977). Ebony Jr. Johnson Publishing Company. pp. 38–39.
  4. ^ "What The Ailey School's Melanie Person Knew When She Was Twelve". www.danceadvantage.net. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  5. ^ "9 DTH Alumni Who Are Continuing Arthur Mitchell's Legacy Today". Dance Magazine. 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  6. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (1986-03-30). "Ballet: Harlem Dance Theater in 'Saffron Knot'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  7. ^ Anderson, Jack (1984-10-07). "Dance: Troupe Performs to Mahler". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  8. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (1983-01-29). "Ballet: Nijinska 'Birches,' by the Harlem Dancers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  9. ^ Kisselgoff, Anna (1980-01-13). "Dance: Harlem Troupe In a 'Paquita' Premiere". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  10. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (1986-04-07). "Dance: Harlem Troupe in 'Fall River Legend'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  11. ^ "Columbia University Libraries Online Exhibitions | Arthur Mitchell: Harlem's Ballet Trailblazer". exhibitions.library.columbia.edu. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  12. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (1998-07-03). "DANCE REVIEW; Defeating Outdoor Pitfalls With an Afternoon Frolic". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  13. ^ "Dance Theatre of Harlem - Virginia Johnson". Dance Theatre of Harlem. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  14. ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2010-08-26). "Footnote". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  15. ^ "News: Atlanta's Juel D. Lane selected for Alvin Ailey's New Directions Choreography Lab". ARTS ATL. 2015-08-25. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  16. ^ "Ailey Host Fordham BFA Benefit Performance". The Observer. 2013-03-04. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  17. ^ 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. {{cite web}}: |last2= has generic name (help)
  18. ^ "Melanie Person | Youth America Grand Prix Ballet competition". Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  19. ^ "Japan Grand Prix | Judges". www.jjgp.jp. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  20. ^ "Melanie Person – Dance Prix de New York". Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  21. ^ "Melanie Person". www.wvculture.org. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  22. ^ "Melanie Person". National Association of Schools of Dance. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  23. ^ "THE AILEY SCHOOL NAMES TRACY INMAN AND MELANIE PERSON AS CO-DIRECTORS". www.dance.nyc. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  24. ^ "Dancers try out for NYC's Ailey School". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  25. ^ "Socioeconomic status and dance". Dance Informa Magazine. 2019-02-01. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  26. ^ "Dance Theatre of Harlem: Celebrating diversity, dancing beyond barriers". amsterdamnews.com. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  27. ^ "About Us – MOBBallet.org". mobballet.org. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
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