Carmen de Lavallade, Versatile Dancer and Educator, Dies at 94

Carmen de Lavallade, a dancer whose six-decade career spanned theater, opera, film and television and who continued to perform well into her 80s, died on Monday in Englewood, N.J. She was 94. Her death, following a short illness, was confirmed by her son, Léo Holder. Long and willowy with elegantly slicked-back hair, Ms.

de Lavallade worked with a who’s who of 20th-century artists, including Alvin Ailey, Lena Horne, Agnes de Mille, Harry Belafonte, Josephine Baker and her husband of 59 years, Geoffrey Holder. Duke Ellington called her “one of the most ravishing women in the world.” She began her training in Los Angeles with Carmelita Maracci and Lester Horton and performed with Mr.

Horton’s company, one of the first multiracial troupes in the country. She later appeared in films such as Carmen Jones (1954) and on Broadway in House of Flowers (1954). Ms. de Lavallade performed with companies including American Ballet Theater, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem and at the Metropolitan Opera.

She also choreographed, taught and helped shape productions at institutions such as the Yale School of Drama and the Yale Repertory Theater, where she spent a decade as performer, choreographer and adjunct professor. Her collaborations included a long creative partnership with Alvin Ailey — “We were dynamite together,” she said — and she created signature solos such as "Come Sunday," set to Black spirituals sung by Odetta.

Key Topics

Culture, Carmen De Lavallade, Geoffrey Holder, Alvin Ailey, American Ballet Theater, Carmen Jones