The initial inspiration made it even more rewarding when, two years later, Naia learned that she had received the Denise Jefferson Memorial Scholarship. “Receiving it was so shocking. I'm so incredibly grateful.” 

Naia first heard about The Ailey School from her dance teacher in California who recommended she attend the Summer Intensive. “My teacher said to me, ‘I just think that you would really benefit from the curriculum, the teachers, from being in the city, and from being in an environment that is so diverse and inclusive.’” The pandemic prevented her from participating initially, but she continued researching the School from afar and eventually decided it was the place for her. “Since then, it's just been a dream,” Naia said. “I was, at first, a little scared about moving across the country, but it's been everything that I could have ever imagined and more.” 

“Since then, it's just been a dream,” Naia said. “I was, at first, a little scared about moving across the country, but it's been everything that I could have ever imagined and more.” 

Many of the styles and techniques taught at The Ailey School were new to Naia when she first arrived to begin her degree with the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program, but she jumped at the opportunity to learn and diversify her dancing abilities. “I had never done Horton before. I'd never done Graham before. But being able to explore these new techniques, and learn about how they were crafted, and the pieces that were made using these techniques was all really exciting.” 

Naia Neal from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program. Photo by Nir Arieli.

Naia credits her excellent experience at the School to her teachers, all of whom allow and encourage students to find their own voices in their dancing. “In all of my classes, I'm challenged to be more of myself” Naia said. “I've been in so many other environments where teachers say, ‘This is what you're supposed to look like. This is what you're supposed to do.’ But here at Ailey, our teachers say you should never feel as if you have to fit yourself to the technique. It should work with you and it should grow with you.”

That spirit of encouraging dancers to discover their individuality comes straight from Alvin Ailey himself. Judith Jamison remembers Mr. Ailey encouraging her when she set about choreographing her first work. “I felt I couldn't possibly do my own movement. It would always be borrowing from someone else. Mr. Ailey helped me get over that in saying that ‘You just do, you just have to do it.’” 

Naia will be part of the BFA program’s 2025 graduating class. As she embarks on her final year at The Ailey School, she is excited to share her own experiences with younger students who are just starting their journey, and to inspire them to achieve their fullest potential. “I'm glad that I have the opportunity to push myself at Ailey because if I want to have a career and do all the things that I hope to do, I need to have those tools where I can make others feel the same way that Tamia made me feel my freshman year.” 

Scholarships like the Denise Jefferson Memorial Scholarship free students of the financial burden that otherwise might prevent talented dancers from attending The Ailey School. “I grew up in a single parent household,” Naia said. “My mother immigrated from Belize with her siblings when she was 15. The support from the Denise Jefferson scholarship has definitely helped a lot with school expenses.” 

Naia Neal from the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program. Photo by Nir Arieli.

Make a gift to The Ailey School to provide scholarships for talented young students with a promising future in dance. Support Students like Naia