BWW Reviews: Carmen de Lavellade Remembers it Well

Carmen de Lavellade Remembers it Well

The opening night of Carmen de Lavellade's As I Remember It at the Baryshnikov Arts Center on February 19, 2015, was electric. De Lavellade was on fire.

Dressed simply in matching leotard and wide legged dance pants with a bright pink, versatile top/wrap, which she used as a prop in a variety of ways as she moved and spoke. DeLavellade, now 83 years old, kept the audience wrapped in attention to her stories and her being. From the moment the lights came up, she told the story of her life, as she remembered it. Of course, there were photos and film clips to verify her remembrances. Behind her on the stage was a long, unusually shaped metal frame with white strings, strung close together, hanging down to the floor. Like her wrap, this had multiple uses. It was on this sheet of hanging strings that her visual memories were projected. Right on time, through this white curtain, she would appear for a scene change or to join the projection. Beautiful.

De Lavallade spoke of her youth, her family, her influences, her questions about her own identity, and more. She was encouraged to dance and was put in dance classes. She dreamed of becoming a ballerina, but people of color were not accepted in most ballet classes.

Enmeshed with her story was an enlightening piece of American modern dance history. Lester Horton, she learned, would allow dancers of all races to participate in his classes. To join the classes with her, she brought a boy from her neighborhood, Alvin Ailey. Yes, this was the same Ailey whose renowned Alvin Ailey Dance Theater is a prominent dance troupe to this day. Before the Ailey troupe emerged, there was the Carmen de Lavellade/Alvin Ailey Company. There is a who's who of modern dancers with whom de Lavallade danced, including dancers in Horten's company, notably, Bella Lewitsky (Horten's muse, at the time), on whom Horten's ballet, Salome, was created, although it was de Lavellade who replaced her when Lewitsky left the company, and Jack Cole, with whom she danced when Ailey dropped out, among others. She danced in the Hollywood films Horten choreographed to finance his company, which was often in financial difficulties. While in L.A., Lena Horne introduced the 17 year old de Lavellade to the filmmakers at 20th Century Fox, where she appeared in four films, including Carmen Jones (1954) with Dorothy Dandridge and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) with Harry Belafonte. There is a long list of choreographers who created works for her as well: Horten, Geoffrey Holder, Alvin Ailey, Glen Tetley, John Butler, and Agnes de Mille. Her rich and colorful experiences fed the stories from the stream of her life, her marriage and partnership of 60 plus years with Holder, their son, Leo, and her career - as dancer/choreographer/teacher/actress... There were charming anecdotes. Duke Ellington kissed her, saying, "four kisses, one for each cheek". She said that her husband, Geoffrey Holder, was her number one fan and told her, "go, experience, create". There was nothing superfluous.

De Lavellade concluded saying, "I have no regrets. I gave my life to my art."

It was such an extraordinary performance.

Created by: Performed by: Carmen de lavellade

Conceived by: de Lavellade with Joe Grifasi and Talvin Wilks

Written by: de Lavellade and Wilks

Directed by: Grifasi

Dramaturgy by: Wilks

Original music by: Jane Ira Bloom

Lighting Designer: James F. Ingalls

Video Designer: Maya Ciarrocchi

Set Designer: Mimi Lien

Sound Designer: Christopher J. Bailey

Costume Designer: Esther Arroyo

Composer: Bloom

Executive Producer: Anna Glass Coquillot

Photo Credit: Stephanie Berger

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