Masazumi Chaya, the associate artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater since 1991, will retire on Jan. 5, 2020, after the company’s annual City Center season. But he’ll still be involved with the organization: After he steps down, Mr. Chaya, 72, will be in charge of a licensing project that will assist in the restaging of Ailey’s works.

Matthew Rushing, a veteran dancer and the company’s rehearsal director, will take over as associate artistic director, while Ronni Favors, a former Ailey member, will become the company’s rehearsal director. Clifton Brown, a current dancer, will join Linda Celeste Sims as an assistant to the rehearsal director.

Mr. Chaya — or Chaya, as he is known — is a former dancer with the company, which he joined in 1972. He has devoted his life to Ailey’s legacy, both in preserving repertory and in training generations of dancers.

He is confident about the succession. “Every time somebody asked me, ‘Are you ready?,’ I was not quite ready — and not because of what I’m doing,” he said. “I enjoy it, but I was not sure if I had a group of people that could continue. I think these young people should have this opportunity to enjoy my job. I felt it shouldn’t be just mine.”