Denise Jefferson

Who was Denise Jefferson?

Denise Adele Jefferson was an American dance educator who served as the director of the Ailey School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1984 until her death.

Jefferson was born in Chicago and began studying ballet as an eight-year-old. Despite her skills as a dancer, she didn't pursue a career in ballet because she "had never seen anyone who wasn't white in a ballet company". She majored in college in French language, earning her undergraduate degree at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts and a master's degree from New York University. She was awarded a scholarship to attend the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance and began her professional dance career with Pearl Lang's Dance Theater. Her sister, Margo, is a former theater critic for The New York Times.

Hired by the Ailey School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1974, Denise Jefferson was named as the school's director in 1984, having been selected by Alvin Ailey himself. She held the position as director until her death in 2010, overseeing a school that grew to a student body of 3,500 dancers with 75 instructors, teaching styles including classical ballet, jazz dance and modern dance.