Carmen de Lavallade obit

Carmen de Lavallade, Trailblazer in Dance, Passes Away

Legendary dancer and choreographer Carmen de Lavallade, known for pushing boundaries in the arts, has passed away. 

She was not on the list.

The world of dance and entertainment has lost a true titan. Carmen de Lavallade, the legendary dancer, choreographer, and trailblazer whose grace and talent broke barriers for over six decades, has passed away at the age of 94. Her son, Leo Holder, confirmed she died following a short illness.

De Lavallade’s journey was one of elegance, resilience, and artistic brilliance. Her unmatched presence on stage made her one of the most celebrated dancers in the nation. She saw dance as a universal language, once telling Ebony magazine, “Dance is close to music and poetry… you can take it any place and people will understand it, because it’s a language everyone speaks.” Her ability to communicate deep emotion through movement captivated audiences everywhere.

Her career was defined by iconic collaborations. One of her most significant partnerships was with the visionary Alvin Ailey. As high school classmates, she saw his potential and encouraged him to pursue dance, even when societal pressures made it difficult. “I just thought he should be a dancer,” she recalled. This friendship and creative bond helped shape the future of American modern dance.

Another monumental partnership was her 59-year marriage to the multi-talented artist Geoffrey Holder, who passed away in 2019. Together, they were a creative force, collaborating on numerous projects and leaving an indelible mark on the arts. De Lavallade also worked alongside other legends like Harry Belafonte and Josephine Baker, seamlessly moving between Broadway, Hollywood, and television.

De Lavallade’s impact extends far beyond her performances. She was one of the first Black prima ballerinas at the Metropolitan Opera, paving the way for generations of Black entertainers to follow. At a time when Black artists faced immense obstacles, she moved with a quiet fearlessness, venturing into new territories and challenging the status quo. “I, unbeknown to myself, became fearless about going into territory I knew nothing about,” she once said.

From her early days in Los Angeles to her acclaimed one-woman show in her 80s, Carmen de Lavallade was a force of nature. Her legacy is one of artistic excellence, cultural pride, and unwavering determination. She didn’t just dance; she inspired, empowered, and transformed the world around her, leaving a legacy that will continue to move us for years to come.

For many years, she was associated with and married to Tony Award-winning actor, dancer, and director Geoffrey Holder. In 2017, she received the Kennedy Center Honors award for lifetime achievement and contributions to American culture.

De Lavallade was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 6, 1931, 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. The family was Catholic.

She 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.

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, she 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).

In 1955, de Lavallade married dancer/actor Geoffrey Holder, whom she had met while working on House of Flowers. 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.

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. 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).

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. Her other notable 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, 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 at the Yale School of Drama during this time included Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, Joe Grifasi, Christopher Durang, and Wendy Wasserstein. Between 1990 and 1993, de Lavallade returned to the Metropolitan Opera as choreographer for Porgy and Bess and Die Meistersinger.

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"), the Bessie Award in 2006, and the Capezio Dance Award in 2007, 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.

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.

In April 2017, De Lavallade was one of eight honorees at The New Jewish Home's 4th Annual Eight over Eighty Gala in New York City.

In December 2017, she received the Kennedy Center Honors Award. On August 17, 2017, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump's third statement after the "Charlottesville rally", she announced that she would forgo the related reception at the White House, which was later cancelled, although she did attend the dinner at the U.S. State Department Headquarters hosted by Rex Tillerson and emceed by Julie Andrews.

On August 30, 2023, De Lavallade was presented with the 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.

 

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