Carmen de Lavallade
Carmen de Lavallade | |
---|---|
![]() de Lavallade in 2017 | |
Born | Los Angeles, California, U.S. | March 6, 1931
Occupation(s) | Actress, choreographer, dancer |
Years active | 1948–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 1 |
Family | Janet Collins (cousin) |
Awards |
Carmen de Lavallade (born March 6, 1931) is an American actress, choreographer and dancer.
Early life
De Lavallade was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 6, 1931,[1] to Creole parents from New Orleans, Louisiana. She was raised by her aunt, Adele, who owned one of the first African-American history bookshops on Central Avenue. De Lavallade's cousin, Janet Collins, was the first Creole/African descendant prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera.[2][3] The family was Catholic.[4]
De Lavallade began studying ballet with Melissa Blake at the age of 16. After graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles, she was awarded a scholarship to study dance with Lester Horton.[5]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/ba/Geoffreyandcarmenholder.jpg/220px-Geoffreyandcarmenholder.jpg)
De Lavallade became a member of the Lester Horton Dance Theater in 1949 where she danced as a lead dancer until her departure for New York City with Alvin Ailey in 1954. Like all of Horton's students, de Lavallade studied other art forms, including painting, acting, music, set design and costuming, as well as ballet and other forms of modern and ethnic dance. She studied dancing with ballerina Carmelita Maracci and acting with Stella Adler. In 1954, de Lavallade made her Broadway debut partnered with Alvin Ailey in Truman Capote's musical House of Flowers (starring Pearl Bailey).[6]
In 1955, she married dancer/actor Geoffrey Holder, whom she had met while working on House of Flowers.[7] It was with Holder that de Lavallade choreographed her signature solo Come Sunday, to a black spiritual sung by Odetta (then known as Odetta Gordon). The following year, de Lavallade danced as the prima ballerina in Samson and Delilah, and Aida at the Metropolitan Opera.[8][9]
She made her television debut in John Butler's ballet Flight, and in 1957 she appeared in the television production of Duke Ellington's A Drum Is a Woman. She appeared in several off-Broadway productions, including Othello and Death of a Salesman.[10] An introduction to 20th Century Fox executives by Lena Horne led to more acting roles between 1952 and 1955. She appeared in several films, including Carmen Jones (1954) with Dorothy Dandridge, Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) with Harry Belafonte, and Lone Star (1996).[10]
De Lavallade was a principal guest performer with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company on the company's tour of Asia and in some countries the company was billed as de Lavallade-Ailey American Dance Company. Other performances included dancing with Donald McKayle and appearing in Agnes de Mille's American Ballet Theatre productions of The Four Marys and The Frail Quarry in 1965. At the insistence of friend John Butler,[11] she began teaching at the Yale School of Drama as a choreographer and performer-in-residence in 1970.
She staged musicals, plays and operas, and eventually became a professor and member of the Yale Repertory Theater. Students during this time includes Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, Joe Grifasi, Christopher Durang, and Wendy Wasserstein.[12] Between 1990 and 1993, de Lavallade returned to the Metropolitan Opera as choreographer for Porgy and Bess and Die Meistersinger.[8]
In 2003, de Lavallade appeared in the rotating cast of the off-Broadway staged reading of Wit & Wisdom.[13] In 2010, she appeared in a one-night-only concert semi-staged reading of Evening Primrose by Stephen Sondheim.[14] In 2014 de Lavallade premiered her solo show As I Remember It. The work was a meditation on her history in dance through performance, film, and storytelling.[15]
Personal life
De Lavallade had resided in New York City with her husband Geoffrey Holder until his death on October 5, 2014.[16] Their lives were the subject of the 2005 Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob documentary Carmen and Geoffrey.[17] The couple had one son, Léo. De Lavallade's brother-in-law was Boscoe Holder.[18]
Awards
In 2004, de Lavallade received the Black History Month Lifetime Achievement Award and the Rosie Award (named for Rosetta LeNoire and "given to individuals who demonstrate extraordinary accomplishment and dedication in the theatrical arts and to corporations that work to promote opportunity and diversity"),[19][20] the Bessie Award in 2006, and the Capezio Dance Award in 2007,[9][21] as well as an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the State University of New York through Purchase College in 2006 and Juilliard School in 2008.[22]
In 2016, de Lavallade received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Obie Awards presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Village Voice for her excellence in off-broadway theater.[23]
In December 2017, she received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.[11] On August 17, 2017, two days after U.S. President Trump's third statement after the 'Charlottesville rally', she announced that she will forgo the related reception at the White House which was later cancelled,[24][25] although she did attend the dinner at the State Department hosted by Rex Tillerson and emceed by Julie Andrews.[26]
De Lavallade was a The New Jewish Home's Eight over Eighty Gala 2017 honoree.
On August 30th 2023, De Lavallade was presented with Richmond Ballet's Lifetime Achievement in Dance Award prior to a performance of John Butler's Carmina Burana at the Filene Center at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.[27]
References
- ^ Camille Olivia Cosby; Renee Poussaint (January 27, 2004). A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak. Atria Books. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-7434-7892-2. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ Dunning, Jennifer (May 31, 2003). "Janet Collins, 86; Ballerina Was First "Black" Artist at Met Opera". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ Camille Olivia Cosby; Renee Poussaint (January 27, 2004). A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak. Atria Books. pp. 98–99. ISBN 978-0-7434-7892-2. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ Wilson, Shawn (December 12, 2006). "Carmen De Lavallade remembers St. Martha's Church in Vernon, California". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
- ^ Judy Gitenstein (August 1, 2005). Alvin Ailey. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4042-0445-4. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ Elizabeth Blair, "At 83, Dancer Carmen De Lavallade Looks Back At A Life Spent Onstage", NPR, October 28, 20144.
- ^ Braswell, Kristin (May 25, 2012). "Interview: Carmen de Lavallade: the Saga Continues". Ebony. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Carmen de Lavallade profile, The HistoryMakers, December 12, 2006; accessed October 8, 2014.
- ^ a b Lisa Jo Sagolla, "Carmen de Lavallade Wins Capezio Award", Backstage, October 2, 2007.
- ^ a b "Carmen De Lavallade", imdb.com; accessed October 8, 2014.
- ^ a b Kaufman, Sarah L. (December 1, 2017). "Carmen de Lavallade is 86 and still the best dancer in the room". Washington Post. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (May 17, 2014). "At 83, dancer Carmen de Lavallade has stories to tell – The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ Reference to de Lavallade at Theatermania.com Archived June 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine; accessed October 7, 2014.
- ^ Portantiere, Michael (2011). "Back into the light". The Sondheim Review. XVII (3): 44. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ "At 83, Dancer Carmen De Lavallade Looks Back At A Life Spent Onstage". NPR.org. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
- ^ Camille Olivia Cosby; Renee Poussaint (January 27, 2004). A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak. Atria Books. pp. 99–100. ISBN 978-0-7434-7892-2. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- ^ "Carmen and Geoffrey (2005" at IMDb.
- ^ Dunning, Jennifer; McDonald, William (October 6, 2014). "Geoffrey Holder, Dancer, Choreographer and Man of Flair, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2014.
- ^ "Amas Musical Theatre benefit on Oct 25 includes concert presentation of 'RAISIN'", BroadwayWorld, October 12, 2004.
- ^ "‘Raisin’ to raise roof at ‘Blast’ bash – Oct. 25 event to fete Holder, De Lavallade, Wilk", Variety, October 12, 2004.
- ^ "Capezio Dance Foundation – Awardees" Archived May 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, Capezio.
- ^ "6 Honorary Doctorates to Be Awarded at Commencement", The Juilliard Journal, May 2008.
- ^ Obie Awards, 2016 Winners Archived November 24, 2017, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ nytimes.com: Carmen de Lavallade, a Dance Legend, to Skip a White House Reception
- ^ Statement on her homepage
- ^ McGlone, Peggy (December 3, 2017). "At the Kennedy Center Honors, plenty of politics make up for Trump's playing hooky". Washington Post. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
- ^ "Dance Review: 'Carmina Burana' presented by Richmond Ballet at Wolf Trap". September 3, 2023.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Carmen de Lavallade at IMDb
- Carmen de Lavallade at the Internet Broadway Database
- Carmen de Lavallade at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Carmen de Lavallade's oral history video excerpts at The National Visionary Leadership Project; accessed October 7, 2014.
- Archive film of Carmen de Lavallade performing Portrait of Billie in 1992 at Jacob's Pillow; accessed January 17, 2015.
- Archival footage of Carmen de Lavallade discussing her involvement in the "Dances for an iPhone" project at Jacob's Pillow, July 23, 2011; accessed October 7, 2014.
- Elizabeth Blair, "At 83, Dancer Carmen De Lavallade Looks Back At A Life Spent Onstage", NPR, October 28, 2014.
- Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University: Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade papers, circa 1900–2018
- 1931 births
- Actresses from Los Angeles
- African-American ballet dancers
- African-American female dancers
- American ballerinas
- American choreographers
- American female dancers
- American film actresses
- American musical theatre actresses
- Dancers from California
- Living people
- Louisiana Creole people
- American modern dancers
- Actresses from New York City
- Dancers from New York (state)
- David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University faculty
- 20th-century African-American women singers
- 20th-century American women singers
- 20th-century American singers
- 21st-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American women
- Kennedy Center honorees
- African-American Catholics