Conversations on Creativity, Craft & Career: Carmen De Lavallade November 17, 2008

Carmen de Lavallade is an artist whom Duke Ellington once called "one of the most ravishing in the world." She began her career in 1950 with the Lester Horton Dance Theater and it was in her work with Horton that de Lavallade began a long association with Alvin Ailey. In 1954, she made her Broadway debut in 'House of Flowers,' where she met and married the dancer and actor Geoffrey Holder. At the Metropolitan Opera, de Lavallade captivated audiences and critics alike as prima ballerina in productions of 'Samson and Delilah' and 'Aida.' She acted in films including 'Carmen Jones' with Dorothy Dandridge and 'Odds Against Tomorrow' with Harry Belafonte. In 1970 she joined the Yale School of Drama as a choreographer and performer-in-residence where she staged musicals, plays and operas, and later became a full professor. She has danced with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and collaborated with choreographer Gus Solomons, Jr. and saxophonist/composer Jane Ira Bloom.