Res. No. 402
Resolution declaring March 6 as Carmen de Lavallade Day in the City of New York to celebrate her life and legacy and to honor her groundbreaking contributions to dance and theater as well as her role in advancing diversity and artistic excellence in the performing arts
By Council Members Williams and Louis
Whereas, Carmen Paula de Lavallade was born on March 6, 1931, in Los Angeles to Leo and Grace Grenot de Lavallade, Black Creoles from New Orleans who had relocated during the Great Migration; and
Whereas, After her mother’s early death, de Lavallade was raised by her father, a bricklayer and postal worker, and her aunt, Adele de Lavallade Young; and
Whereas, She grew up idolizing her cousin, Janet Collins, who persevered against racial discrimination and went on to become the first Black principal dancer with the Metropolitan Opera; and
Whereas, Having studied dance as a child, de Lavallade received a scholarship at 16 to study with Lester Horton, who had perfected his own style of modern dance and had his own small racially integrated dance company; and
Whereas, Having met Alvin Ailey, a fellow student at Thomas Jefferson High School, who was captivated by her, de Lavallade took him to observe her classes at Horton’s studio; and
Whereas, Horton offered young Ailey the chance to study with him as well, thus starting a long creative and successful dance partnership between Ailey and de Lavallade, first showcased on stage by Horton in his own company; and
Whereas, At Horton’s studio, de Lavallade studied ballet, modern dance, African dance, acting, music, painting, costuming, lighting, and set design; and
Whereas, After Horton’s death at the age of 47, de Lavallade and Ailey tried to keep his company going, but it was very difficult and soon Broadway beckoned to both of them; and
Whereas, In 1954, the strikingly beautiful and willowy de Lavallade and Ailey appeared for the first time on Broadway in the new all-Black musical House of Flowers, which featured an all-star cast of current and future theater and dance celebrities, including Geoffrey Holder, who married de Lavallade in 1955; and
Whereas, De Lavallade and Holder worked together to create many pieces, including Come Sunday, one of her famous solos, set to traditional spirituals sung by Odetta, while Holder also went on to a memorable acting career and to Tony Award wins for costume design and direction of The Wiz; and
Whereas, De Lavallade also succeeded her beloved cousin as prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera in 1955, performing there until 1958; and
Whereas, In the late 1950s, de Lavallade helped Ailey build his young Black dance company into what is now the world-renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, including dancing a central role in Revelations (1960), Ailey’s signature piece that is still performed worldwide today; and
Whereas, De Lavallade continued to perform in Off-Broadway productions, including in Death of a Salesman and Othello; on television, including in “A Drum Is a Woman” (1957), with music by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, and in Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, choreographed by John Butler; and in films, including Odds Against Tomorrow (1959), with Harry Belafonte, after her earlier role in the all-Black musical Carmen Jones (1954); and
Whereas, Still faced with instances of racism, especially when being paired with a white male partner, de Lavallade once noted that the “arts are colorless” and that the “arts are my way of contributing,” further commenting that she “perform[s] in integrated groups, and the performances are for everybody”; and
Whereas, De Lavallade considered her 1965 guest appearances with the American Ballet Theatre in Agnes de Mille’s The Four Marys and The Frail Quarry to be a breakthrough for Black ballet performers; and
Whereas, In the 1970s, de Lavallade performed with, choreographed for, and served as an adjunct professor at the Yale School of Drama and the Yale Repertory Theater; and
Whereas, De Lavallade choreographed for many companies over many decades, including the Dance Theatre of Harlem, PHILADANCO!, and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; and
Whereas, In 1983, de Lavallade was inducted as an honorary member of the Harlem-based Tau Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, a Black Greek-Letter Organization of college-educated women focused on national and international issues including economics, education, the environment, human rights, equity, and social and political activism; and
Whereas, In 2017, de Lavallade became a recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors; and
Whereas, De Lavallade has also received numerous other honors, including the Dance Magazine Award in 1967, two Bessie Awards in 2000 and in 2009-2010, an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from The Juilliard School in 2008, and the Lifetime Achievement Obie Award in 2016; and
Whereas, In 2014, de Lavallade created and performed her hour-long multimedia As I Remember It, in which she reflected on her career and engaged with photos and videos of her life; and
Whereas, De Lavallade continued to dance well into her 80s, with the same grace and regal bearing she had long been known for; and
Whereas, Predeceased by her husband of 59 years in 2012, de Lavallade died on December 29, 2025, after a brief illness at the age of 94 and is survived by her son, Léo Holder; and
Whereas, The designation of a day is fitting to commemorate the life and legacy of de Lavallade, whose dedication to her art made a lasting impression on the world of the performing arts in New York City and beyond; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York declares March 6 as Carmen de Lavallade Day in the City of New York to celebrate her life and legacy and to honor her groundbreaking contributions to dance and theater as well as her role in advancing diversity and artistic excellence in the performing arts.
LS #21712
3/9/26
RHP