Published: October 5, 2010

Following the death of director Denise Jefferson, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater announced that Tracy Inman and Melanie Person will be taking the positions of Co-Directors of the Ailey School.

Tracy Inman began his career at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1981 when he was offered a scholarship to study at the school. After two years, Inman was chosen by director Sylvia Waters to be a part of the junior company, Ailey II, and was invited soon after to join the Jamison Project. Inman later followed Judith Jamison to Alvin Ailey, and enjoyed a five-year career with the company. He began teaching the Horton Technique at the Ailey School in 1999, and became Co-Director of the Junior Division by 2001.

Melanie Person also began teaching at the Ailey School in 1999, and was named Co-Director of the Junior Division alongside Inman. Person became the chair of the ballet department, and later assisted Jamison in the nationwide annual audition tours.

The new Co-Directors will continue their previous roles overseeing the Junior Division. Inman will supervise the Professional Performing Arts School partnership, as well the Fellowship and Certificate programs and Pace Actors Classes. Person will be in charge of the US and International Independent Studies program, and will become responsible for the Ailey/Fordham BFA program after Anan Marie Forsythe retires in 2011. “Everyone raves about [Robert] Battle’s insight and vision for dance,” says Marquet Lee, a dancer in the Ailey/Fordham BFA program.

“I think Mr. Inman and Mrs. Person have that very same insight. They have the voice of a different generation than that of Mrs. Jamieson and Mrs. Jefferson, however they are still influenced by them.”

Both Inman and Person have worked closely with Jefferson over the past years, and the two are fully entrusted by the Ailey family to help continue the spirit and work of the Ailey School.