Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
Joy Bell
Michelle Huynh
Jiansong Huang
Hello everyone,
Debbie Allen is a choreographer, director, and dancer who has worked on such projects as Fame, West Side Story and Sweet Charity.
Debbie Allen hit it big in 1980, starring in a Broadway revival of West Side Story. Her performance earned her a Tony nomination and landed her a role as a dance instructor in the movie Fame (1980). Debbie Allen was born in Houston, Texas, where her father, Andrew Allen, was a dentist and her mother, Vivian Ayers Allen, was a Pulitzer Prize-nominated writer.
Debbie Allen started choreography in the '70s and 80s. During her college years, she continued to dance with students at the university and with choreographer Michael Malone's dance troupe. After graduating in 1971, Allen relocated to New York City where she would develop her talents as a dancer, actress, and singer in her appearances on Broadway, and eventually in television shows and movies.
Allen remained active throughout the late 1990s. In 1997 she realized a decades-long dream by producing Steven Spielberg's epic AMIDST. The following year, she directed the musical "Brothers of the Knight" at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
In a career that spans three decades, the name Debbie Allen is synonymous with dynamic energy, creative talent and innovation. Because of the experience and difficult process of learning ballet from an early age, dance is inextricably linked with her. She has her own dance school to teach more people to dance and make a lot of people like ballet. Unlike the works of her era, which are different from those of others in her time, she wants the audience to see them become more mature in any way.
Debbie Allen's work epitomizes the spirit of freedom within the dance experience while also paying respect to the many technical nuances within dance. During the course of this class, I have viewed so many of Mrs. Allen's pieces. While there are many possible angles to discuss, I have most enjoyed feeling the light in her movements. Her dancing feels like she has allowed her very soul to fly free. With no limitations, those who are not trained feel as though they are able to do the same.
I
In this clip, Debbie joins Gwen Verdon through a fun walk through the many greats of dance. Many of Allen's current work involves a great deal of modern dance. I simply appreciate that she showcased the important fact that her skills are on par with her peers.
In 2017, Allen joined Tisha Campbell. At the time, Debbie was a mere 67 years of age. While she does not move as quickly, the sass and love for dance is still evident in fun and freedom that is still her life's calling.
https://youtu.be/QsAsp9lbjQE
Debbie Allen: Atlanta Needed What I Have To Offer, 10 Mar. 2017, cp.wabe.org/post/debbie-allen-atlanta-needed-what-i-have-offer.
Houston-born actress and choreographer Debbie Allen turns 69, 15 Jan. 2019, www.chron.com/life/article/Houston-born-actress-and-choreographer-Debbie-13535035.php.
Hill, Michael E. DEBBIE ALLEN SHE MADE 'DIFFERENT' A BETTER 'WORLD', 13 Aug. 1989, www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/tv/1989/08/13/debbie-allen-she-made-different-a-better-world/3a276c0d-dd5d-4a1f-81bc-6f8ac6eb349d/.
Instra-TV: 17 Nov. 2017. Tisha Campbell Martin rehearsing with Debbie Allen at her Dance Academy. https://youtu.be/f1Gmv8T7RHc
Mark1814: 20 April 2011. Fame TV Series Evolution of Dance Debbie Allen Gwen Verdon. https://youtu.be/ulR9eQbO5jQ
Raffio, Ralph. , 15 Nov. 2017, purpleclover.littlethings.com/entertainment/7988-teachers-we-love/item/debbie-allen/.