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Carmen de Lavallade

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Years active
  
1948–present

Children
  
Leo Anthony Lamont

Role
  
Actress


Name
  
Carmen Lavallade

Family
  
Janet Collins (cousin)

Siblings
  
Yvonne De Lavallade

Carmen de Lavallade Carmen de Lavallade Carmen de Lavallade Dancer

Born
  
March 6, 1931 (age 93) (
1931-03-06
)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Occupation
  
Dancer, choreographer, actress

Spouse
  
Geoffrey Holder (m. 1955–2014)

Movies
  
Carmen & Geoffrey, Big Daddy, Odds Against Tomorrow, The Hours, Louis

Similar People
  

Dancer carmen de lavallade reflects on her career in as i remember it


Carmen de Lavallade (born March 6, 1931) is an American actress, dancer and choreographer.

Contents

Carmen de Lavallade Biography Carmen de Lavallade

Carmen de lavallade jacob s pillow dance festival 2014


Early years

Carmen de Lavallade Baryshnikov Arts Center Carmen de Lavallade

Carmen de Lavallade was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 6, 1931, to black 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 African-American prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera.

Carmen de Lavallade On Stage lt 651 ARTS

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.

Career

Carmen de Lavallade FileCarmen De Lavallade by Carl Van Vechten 1955jpg

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).

Carmen de Lavallade Carmen De Lavallade Joins A Streetcar Named Desire

In 1955, she 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 and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) with Harry Belafonte.

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. She joined 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. Between 1990 and 1993, de Lavallade returned to the Metropolitan Opera as choreographer for Porgy and Bess and Die Meistersinger.

In 2003, de Lavallade appeared in the rotating cast of the off-Broadway staged reading of Wit & Wisdom. In 2010, she appeared in a one-night-only concert semi-staged reading of Evening Primrose by Stephen Sondheim.

Personal life

De Lavallade had resided in New York City with her husband Geoffrey Holder until his death on October 5, 2014. Their lives were the subject of the 2005 Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob documentary Carmen and Geoffrey. The couple had one son, Léo. De Lavallade's brother-in-law was Boscoe Holder.

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"), the Bessie Award in 2006, and the Capezio Dance Award in 2007, as well as an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the Juilliard School in 2008.

In December 2017, she receives the Kennedy Center Honors Award. On 17 August 2017, two days after US President Trumps third statement after the 'Charlottesville rally', she announced that she will forgo the related reception at the White House.

Filmography

Actress
2018
Red Dead Redemption II (Video Game) as
Soothsayer (voice)
2015
Children and Art, from Dancing Sondheim (Video short)
2014
Dances for an iPhone (TV Series short) as
Dancer
- Dancing Sondheim, Volume 4 (2014) - Dancer
2010
Louis
2009
Sherri (TV Series) as
Dolores
- Thrown for a Hoop (2009) - Dolores
- I Have a Dreamboard (2009) - Dolores
2004
Stone Mansion (Short) as
Mabel Stone
2002
The Hours as
Clarissa's Neighbor
2002
The Other Brother as
Chris Vincent
1999
Big Daddy as
Judge (as Carmen deLavallade)
1996
Lone Star as
Carolyn (as Carmen de Lavallade)
1990
Blue Bayou (TV Movie) as
Madam Frosine
1988
The Trial of Standing Bear (TV Movie) as
Suzette
1987
The Comic Strip (TV Series) as
Voice
- Karate Kat: The Katzenheimer Kaper/The Sardine Turnover Kaper/The Mousemobile Kaper (1987) - (voice)
- Street Frogs: The Hop Line/The Crate/Typhoon Take Off (1987) - Voice (voice)
1987
The Cosby Show (TV Series)
- Cliff's 50th Birthday (1987)
1985
Search for Tomorrow (TV Series) as
Fortune Teller
- Episode #1.8700 (1985) - Fortune Teller (uncredited)
- Episode #1.8697 (1985) - Fortune Teller (credit only)
- Episode #1.8695 (1985) - Fortune Teller
- Episode #1.8694 (1985) - Fortune Teller (uncredited)
- Episode #1.8693 (1985) - Fortune Teller (as Carmen DeLavallade, credit only)
1967
Lincoln Center/Stage 5 (TV Series) as
Dancer
- Five Ballets of the Five Senses (1967) - Dancer
1964
L'enfance du Christ (TV Movie) as
Virgin Mary - dancer
1964
Another World (TV Series) as
Isabelle (1998)
1961
The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) as
Singer / Dancer
- Episode #14.27 (1961) - Singer
- Episode #14.18 (1961) - Dancer
1960
Camera Three (TV Series) as
Lover
- They Call Her Moses (1960) - Lover
1959
Odds Against Tomorrow as
Kitty
1956
Studio One (TV Series) as
The Girl
- Flight (1956) - The Girl
1954
Carmen Jones as
Dance Soloist (uncredited)
1954
The Egyptian as
Egyptian Dancer
1954
Demetrius and the Gladiators as
Slave Girl (uncredited)
1953
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as
Javanese Actress (uncredited)
1952
Lydia Bailey as
Speciality Dancer (uncredited)
Miscellaneous
-
The Metropolitan Opera HD Live (TV Series) (choreography - 1 episode, 2014) (choreographer - 1 episode, 2014)
- Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2014) - (choreography)
- Dvorák: Rusalka (2014) - (choreographer)
2001
The Metropolitan Opera Presents (TV Series) (choreographer - 1 episode)
- Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2001) - (choreographer)
1988
The Serpent and the Rainbow (special choreographer)
1973
Evening at Pops (TV Series documentary) (choreographer - 1 episode)
- Episode dated 5 August 1973 (1973) - (choreographer: Allego)
Soundtrack
1973
Evening at Pops (TV Series documentary) (performer - 1 episode)
- Episode dated 5 August 1973 (1973) - (performer: "Allegro", "The Creation")
1961
The Ed Sullivan Show (TV Series) (performer - 2 episodes)
- Episode #14.27 (1961) - (performer: "Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree")
- Episode #14.18 (1961) - (performer: "Willow Weep for Me")
1960
A Time to Dance (TV Series) (performer - 1 episode)
- Ethnic Dance: A Roundtrip to Trinidad (1960) - (performer: "Banda", "Glory, Glory", "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")
Thanks
2003
Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty (TV Movie documentary) (thanks)
Self
-
Up in the Air (Documentary) (filming) as
Self
2022
Bella (Documentary) as
Self
2022
American Masters (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Ailey (2022) - Self
2021
Independent Lens (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Mr. SOUL! (2021) - Self
2021
Arnetia Walker: Just One Step (TV Special) as
Self
2018
Mr. Soul! (Documentary) as
Self
2018
The 202 Xtra (TV Mini Series) as
Self
- Kennedy Center (2018) - Self
2017
The 40th Annual Kennedy Center Honors (TV Special) as
Self - Honoree
2017
CBS News Sunday Morning (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode #40.11 (2017) - Self
2015
Tavis Smiley (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode dated 4 December 2015 (2015) - Self
- Episode dated 17 July 2015 (2015) - Self
2012
The 2012 Annual Actors Fund Gala Awards (TV Special) as
Self
2010
Beginnings (TV Series documentary) as
Self
2010
Dances for an iPhone (TV Series short) as
Self
2006
Josephine Baker - Schwarze Diva in einer weißen Welt (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
2005
Carmen and Geoffrey (Documentary) as
Self
2003
Dorothy Dandridge: An American Beauty (TV Movie documentary) as
Self
2002
Geoffrey Holder: The Unknown Side... (Documentary) as
Self
1999
Celebrity Profile (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Henry Winkler (1999) - Self
1990
Night of 100 Stars III (TV Special) as
Self
1989
Bill Cosby Salutes Alvin Ailey (TV Special) as
Self
1983
The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (TV Special documentary) as
Self
1982
All by Myself: The Eartha Kitt Story (Documentary) as
Self
1973
Evening at Pops (TV Series documentary) as
Self
- Episode dated 5 August 1973 (1973) - Self
1971
Soul! (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode dated 7 January 1971 (1971) - Self
1970
The Dick Cavett Show (TV Series) as
Self
- Episode dated 31 December 1970 (1970) - Self
1962
Camera Three (TV Series) as
Self / Self - Dancer
- Total Dancer (1968) - Self
- A Tribute to Lester Horton (1963) - Self
- Tribute to Billie Holliday (1962) - Self - Dancer
1968
A Night at Ford's Theater (TV Special) as
Self
1964
The Josephine Baker Show (TV Movie) as
Self
1960
Lamp Unto My Feet (TV Series) as
Self - Dancer / Esther / Bathsheba / ...
- Mark of Cain (1963) - Self - Dancer
- Esther (1961) - Esther
- David and Bathsheba (1960) - Bathsheba
- Saul and the Witch of Endor (1960) - The Witch
1960
A Time to Dance (TV Series) as
Self - Dancer
- Ethnic Dance: A Roundtrip to Trinidad (1960) - Self - Dancer
1954
The Red Skelton Hour (TV Series) as
Self - Spy in Legion Sketch
- Freddie Goes to the Cleaners (1954) - Self - Spy in Legion Sketch
Archive Footage
1993
Genius on the Wrong Coast (Documentary)

References

Carmen de Lavallade Wikipedia


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