Carmen de lavallade biography of william hamilton

Carmen de Lavallade, born in New Orleans in and raised in Los Angeles, was inspired by her cousin Janet Collins to take up dancing. She studied under Melissa Blake and Italian ballerina Carmelita Maracci, and her performance career began at age 17 with Lester Horton Dance Theater, where she danced with her high school friend Alvin Ailey. She also studied acting, painting, sculpting, music, and design, as Horton encouraged his dancers to interact with other art forms as well.

Also alongside Ailey, de Lavallade performed in House of Flowers on Broadway, the musical that introduced her to her husband, Geoffrey Holder. De Lavallade also appeared in several television shows, off-Broadway productions, and films including Carmen Jones which featured several members of Negro Unit of Ballet Theatre and Odds Against Tomorrow , among others.

Choreographers also love her because she has a solid technique and a brilliant, unsurpassable talent for interpreting a ballet.

Carmen de lavallade biography of william hamilton: Judith Jamison, Carmen de

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