-New Urban Culture- At Age 86, American Dance Pioneer Carmen de Lavallade Becomes Kennedy Center Honoree

Taking flight:  At age 86, the legendary Carmen de Lavallade remains the most elegant dancer in the crowd

She has performed with entertainment legends, Josephine Baker and Duke Ellington. She is as equally ravishing en pointe in ballet shoes as she is in modern jazz movement. In the world of classical and traditional performing arts, few dancers have had the level of impact on dance, film, and theater as the ever graceful, seemingly ageless Carmen de Lavallade, and tonight she will be feted for her illustrious career as a Kennedy Center honoree - for a lifetime contribution to performing arts and culture.

A Young Carmen de Lavallade with future husband,
Geoffrey Holder during as part of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company

Born the daughter of a California bricklayer, the tall, elegant 86 year-old Lavallade began her career with Los Angeles's Lester  Dance Horton Theatre in the 1950s. At age 17, the young dancer was introduced to 20th Century Fox by actress Lena Horne, where she went on to appear in films with Dorothy Dandridge ("Carmen Jones", 1954) and Harry Belafonte ("Odds Against Tomorrow", 1959).  Ms. Lavallade then expanded her career to Broadway, and in the world of dance became the muse for ballets created by choreographers Alvin Ailey, Agnes de Mille, and her husband of 60 years (until his death in 2014),  dancer/choreographer/ director Geoffrey Holder.



Ms. Lavallade has been a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera and a guest artist with the American Ballet Theater, and has been one of America's most noted dance choreographers, creating works for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre,  Dance Theatre of Harlem, and the Metropolitan Opera. She has also taught movement at America's prestigious Yale University, and has been a member of both the Yale Repertory Company and the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard.  Along with her late husband Geoffrey Holder, their artistic legacy and 60 year marital and creative partnership was chronicled in 2005's critically acclaimed documentary, " Carmen & Geofrrey".  Tonight she accepts the award for Kennedy Center Honoree as part of the class of 2017 along with singers Lionel Richie,& Gloria Estefan, actor/rapper LL Cool J,  and iconic television director/producer Norman Lear.

 For the first time in the Kennedy Center Honors 40 year history, a President of the United States has stated that he will no longer attend the ceremony, standing firm in the current Presidential administration's desire to end America's National Endowment for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Humanities.  For live stream videos of the Kennedy Center Honors,  be sure to check the official website kennedy-center.org, and the official Kennedy Center channel on Youtube.