Francesca Harper

Francesca Harper is a choreographer and dancer from the United States. She is the niece of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Margo Jefferson and the daughter of dancer and educator Denise Jefferson, who directed The Ailey School. Harper was appointed a Presidential Scholars Program scholar of the arts in 1987. She trained at the School of American Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet School before joining William Forsythe's Ballet Frankfurt as a principal dancer from 1994 until 1999. She worked as a ballet consultant for the film Black Swan and as a dancer on the television show Boardwalk Empire.

Fosse, The Producers, and the Tony Award-winning classic The Color Purple are among her Broadway credits. She had leading roles in Sweet Charity and Sophisticated Ladies at the regional level. "The Look of Feeling," her most recent solo work, has been regarded as "a piece rich in truth and authenticity." She is currently appearing in Punchdrunk's performance of "Sleep No More" in New York City.

Francesca Harper has choreographed works with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Ailey II, Tanz Graz, Hubbard Street II, Dallas Black Dance Theater, and The Francesca Harper Project, among others. The Francesca Harper Project has evolved into a vehicle for Harper's own artistic vision.

Born: 1969
Nationality: American