Denise Adele Jefferson (November 1, 1944 – July 17, 2010) 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.
[1] She was the mother of singer, dancer, and choreographer, Francesca Harper and sister of Pulitzer Prize winning writer Margo Jefferson, a former theatre critic for The New York Times.
[2] 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.
Jefferson established a joint degree program with Fordham University in which students receive dance training and traditional liberal arts course, earning a bachelor of fine arts degree from Fordham upon completion.
[1] Of the approximately 140 credits needed to earn the combined degree, half would be at the Ailey School in choreography, technique and other dance-related courses, with the balance being in traditional liberal arts courses at Fordham.