Francesca Harper

Francesca Harper (born 1969) is an American dancer and choreographer. She is the daughter of dancer and educator Denise Jefferson, who directed The Ailey School, and the niece of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Margo Jefferson. Harper was named a scholar of the arts in the Presidential Scholars Program in 1987. She studied at the School of American Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School and went on to become a principal dancer in William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt from 1994 to 1999. Harper served as a ballet consultant for the film Black Swan and appeared as a dancer in the television series Boardwalk Empire. In 2005, she founded the non-profit dance company The Francesca Harper Project. Francesca Harper was honored with a Living History award during Black History Month in 2013 and named Artistic Director of The Alvin Ailey II Company in 2021.