Tag: philadanco

Remembering Pioneering Ballerina Delores Browne, 1935–2023

Ballerina and teacher Delores Browne Abelson, known professionally as Delores Browne, transitioned on October 2, 2023. Her close friend, Marilyn Napoli, confirmed that Browne had battled kidney cancer for several months. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Browne started her love affair with ballet in middle school. In 1949, she was awarded a scholarship by Marion Cuyjet, […]

Joan Myers Brown on the Dance Scholarships That Are Expanding Opportunities for Young Black Artists

Dance legend Joan Myers Brown, Philadelphia-born and -bred, founded the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts in 1960 to train Black dancers, who at the time had little opportunity to train in dance (particularly ballet) at segregated dance studios. Ten years later she founded the now renowned modern dance company PHILADANCO for similar reasons. Myers Brown […]

IABD's New Project Is Preserving Black Dance History

The International Association of Blacks in Dance is digitizing recordings of significant, at-risk dance works, master classes, panels and more by Black dancers and choreographers from 1988 to 2010. The project is the result of a $50,000 Recordings at Risk grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources. “This really is a long time […]