Jenifer Ringer and James Fayette
After three years at the head of the Colburn Dance Academy, Jenifer Ringer will leap into a new role as Dean of the Trudl Zipper Dance Institute. James Fayette will join her in the institute’s leadership, serving as Associate Dean. The two will oversee all dance programs, in all disciplines, from beginning classes to pre-professional training.
Jenifer and James built illustrious careers at New York City Ballet, one of the most prestigious companies in the world, where they were both principal dancers. They’ve worked with many of the top choreographers, and performed iconic roles at Lincoln Center.
At Colburn, they are using their rich experiences and expertise to train the next generation of great artists. Jenifer and James have strived to foster the growth of well-rounded and thoughtful dancers in the Colburn Dance Academy. Their students have even enhanced their ballet studies with training in other genres, including Contemporary Dance, Urban Movement and a rhythm-training class called Untapped as well as music and keyboard studies. The group also makes regular visits to other cultural institutions, such as our neighbors, the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Broad museum and tours of the Art District drawing new connections to inspire their craft.
President and CEO Sel Kardan noted their success recruiting and training pre-professional dancers in the Dance Academy. He said they have “embraced and enriched the entire school,” describing them as “remarkably warm and caring educators and artists with a deep commitment to student-centered learning.”
The Trudl Zipper Dance Institute was created in 2007, through the support of a generous patron, to build on the Colburn School’s rich legacy of dance education. Community School of Performing Arts Dean Robert McAllister guided the program’s growth, and, today, nearly 400 students take ballet, tap, modern, and musical theater classes.
The Colburn Dance Academy was launched by Jenifer and James in 2014 as a training ground for a select group of pre-professional dancers. Graduates have gone on to such prestigious dance companies as the San Francisco Ballet, L.A. Dance Project and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In their new roles, they will work closely with our gifted dance-department chairs, Kelly Ann Sloan, Denise Scheerer, and Tamsin Carlson, to create the premiere experience for students of all levels, and across all genres.