Edith Ke’kuhikuhiipu’uoneonaali’iokohala Kenao was born in Honomu, Hawaii. By the time she was born, Native Hawaiian culture and traditions had been oppressed for decades by Western imperialist policies that prohibited performing the native Hula dance and teaching Hawaiian languages. Even so, Kanakaʻole’s father, a musician, and her mother, a hula dancer, taught their children the traditional Hawaiian arts. Later, Kanakaʻole continued to learn hula dancing with Akoni Mika, a prominent dancer and chanter. In the middle of 7th grade, she quit school and spent time catching fish at the beach and developing her art. In addition to dancing, Kanakaʻole was a talented musician, composing songs and oli (Hawaiian chants), often combining choreographing hula with oli. Her performances gained popularity, and in 1950, Kanakaʻole toured Canada, the US, and several countries in Asia. In 1953, at 40, Kanakaʻole founded the Halau o Kekuhi hola school, where she served as Kumu Hula – the chief practitioner of traditional Hawaiian dance and culture. There, she created a distinct style of hula that derived from the dancing traditions of her native Hilo area. Kanakaʻole’s hula dance has characterized by dancing with deeply bent knees and dynamic movements. Over time, Kanakaʻole’s efforts to preserve the Hawaiian culture expanded into other areas, including the Hawaiian language. The rise of the Hawaiian Renaissance in the late 1960s and early 1970s was the perfect opportunity to promote the cause. She helped develop the first Hawaiian language program at the Keaukaha School in Hilo and the Hawaiian Studies Kupuna Program for the public schools. During the 1970s, Kanakaʻole worked as a teacher at Hawaiʻi Community College and the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, where she served as the lead Hawaiian language teacher and established the Bachelor of Arts degree in Hawaiian Studies. In her classes, Kanakaʻole taught all aspects of Hawaiian culture, including genealogy, Polynesian history, ethnobotany, land ownership, myths, and chants. She died of cancer at the age of 65. Read more...

Edris Stannus was born near Blessington, Ireland. At the age of seven, she moved to Kent, England, to live with her grandmother. At 10, she began to take ballet classes; three years later, she joined the Lila Field Academy for Children, where she got training from prominent ballet masters, such as Enrico Cecchetti and Edouard Espinosa. She danced in revues and music halls around London. In those days, ballet dancers had to have French or Russian stage names, so she changed her name to Ninette de Valois. In 1919, 21 years old de Valois received the role of a principal dancer of the Beecham Opera; two years later, she joined the prestigious Ballets Russes as a soloist, performing with the company throughout Europe. In 1924, at 26, she had to take a step back from intense dancing after discovering she had damage from an undiagnosed case of childhood polio. It changed the course of her career, and she decided to open a dancing school. In 1926, she founded the Academy of Choreographic Arts for girls in London and a sister school in Dublin. Only two years later, Lilian Baylis, the owner of the Old Vic Theatre, invited de Valois to provide dancers and coach actors in the theater’s productions. The collaboration was very successful, and in 1931, when Sadler’s Wells Theatre was re-opened, de Valois’ school moved in under a new name – the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School. In that same year, she founded the Vic-Wells Ballet Company. In 1956, the company and school were granted a Royal Charter by Queen Elizabeth II and renamed the Royal Ballet. In addition to classic ballet production, such as Giselle, Swan Lake, and The Nutcracker, de Valois created original choreographies, such as Job, The Rake’s Progress, and Checkmate. In these productions, she withdrew from the traditional Russian convention, creating a distinctly English style of choreography, drawing from English tradition, themes, and sources, preferring British composers, and forming more prominent roles for male dancers. In 1963, at the age of 65, she retired as director of the Royal Ballet but headed the school for several more years. She continued to make public appearances and served as patron of various companies, including the Irish Theatre Ballet, the Cork Ballet Company, and the Irish National Ballet. She died at the age of 102. Read more...

Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in poverty after her father left the family when she was only a few months old. At the age of 8, she started working as a domestic servant for white families to support her family. Later on, she lived on the streets and earned money as a street performer. At 13, she began to work as a waitress at the Old Chauffeur’s Club, where she met Willie Wells. The couple got married but divorced only a few months later. She joined a street performance group, and in 1923, at the age of 16, she moved with them to NYC, leaving her second husband, William Howard Baker, whom she married the previous year. In NYC, she performed at the Plantation Club while auditioning for serval productions, finally landing a role in the chorus line of the Broadway revue Shuffle Along. Her comic touch made her stand out as an audience favorite, and soon, she booked her next Broadway role in the course line of The Chocolate Dandies. In 1925, at 18, Baker moved to Paris to dance in La Revue Nègre at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where she introduced to the French audience her danse sauvage (savage dance), wearing nothing but a skirt made of a string of bananas. Her star was on the rise, and she became one of the most popular entertainers in France, being admired by artists such as Ernest Hemingway, Jean Cocteau, and Picasso, who drew paintings of her. After a successful European tour in 1929, she acted in numerous films. With the money she earned, Baker bought an estate in the South of France called Château des Milandes. In the mid-30s, she sailed back to the US, trying to establish herself as a performer in her home country, but left after being scrutinized by the critics and receiving racist reactions from the crowd. On her return to France, she married her third husband, the French industrialist Jean Lion, and gave up her American citizenship to become a French citizen. When WW2 erupted, Baker was recruited by the Deuxième Bureau, the French military intelligence agency. As an entertainer, she traveled across occupied Europe and socialized with German politicians and high-rank officials to gather information. When Nazi Germany invaded France, she moved to her estate in the south, joined the Red Cross, and worked for Free France – the exiled French government. Later, she relocated to the French colony in Morocco, smuggling hidden messages in music sheets while entertaining the troops in North Africa and the Middle East. After the war, she received numerous honors for her work with the resistance. In 1947, Baker married her fourth husband, the French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon, returning to Paris and the stage, more popular than ever for her performance and tribute to the war effort. In 1951, she was invited to perform in the US and was appalled by the racial discrimination she had encountered. Though no longer an American citizen, she began to work with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and by refusing to perform in segregated venues, she helped to integrate live shows in Miami and Las Vegas. Baker could not get pregnant because of a hysterectomy due to complications of a stillbirth she had during the war. In the early 1950s, she began adopting children from different ethnicities and religions, calling her family The Rainbow Tribe. They lived on her estate in Southern France, which included a farm, rides, and numerous hotels. She charged an entrance fee for guests to use the facilities and watch her children sing, dance, and view her “experiment in brotherhood.” In 1968, at the age of 62, after a few years off the stage, she realized that her popularity had declined. In 1973, she made a comeback when performing at Carnegie Hall in NYC and was greeted with a standing ovation. In Paris, two years later, she had 50 years in business revue financed by Princess Grace and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. The sold-out show was attended by A-listers such as Liza Minnelli, Mick Jagger, and Diana Ross. Four days later, she suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and was found in her bed surrounded by newspapers with raving reviews of her show. She died in the following year at the age of 68. Read more...

Carmen Amaya was born in Barcelona, Spain, to a gypsy Romani family. As an infant, she learned to dance from her mother and aunt. When she was only 4, she started to accompany her father in his performances at pubs and clubs. After the show, she picked the coins that the crowd threw on the floor. When she was 6, she caught the attention of a show businessman who booked her shows in better-respected venues, such as the Spanish Theater. The audience loved her, and she became known as La Capitana. In 1929, the 16 years old Amaya performed at the International Fair of Barcelona in front of Alfonso XIII, the King of Spain. A praising review about her in the newspaper Mirador made her famous across the country. For the next few years, she performed in the most prestigious halls in Spain, including the Zarzuela Theatre and the Fontalba Theatre, as well as in films, such as the musical La Hija de Juan Simón. In July of 1936, 23 years old Amaya and her cuadro (a troupe of musicians, dancers, and singers) performed in Madrid when the Spanish Civil War began. They managed to cross the border to Portugal and from there to Buenos Aires, Argentina. There, she continued to perform, and after 9 months, she embarked on a four-year tour through Latin America. In 1941, the company arrived in the US, where Amaya’s fame and reputation continued growing. She performed at Carnegie Hall, was invited to participate in several Hollywood films and the White House. By then, Amaya established herself as a renowned artist with a fascinating personality and sharp wit. Her dancing became known as the most daring flamenco, with constant improvisations and quick and rattling footwork that became her trademark. She broke the rules of traditional female flamenco by adding “masculine” elements and not emphasizing the “feminine” ones, such as upper torso movements. In 1947, at the age of 34, she returned to Europe, performing in Paris and London, before returning to her homeland Spain as a legend, the most outstanding flamenco dancer of her time. She continued to perform across Europe and Latin America for the next two decades. In 1963, Amaya’s health began to decline. Terminally ill with kidney disease, she did not stop performing until she was over-exhausted. On August 8, 1963, she performed her last dance, collapsing in the middle of the show. She died three months later at the age of 50. Read more...

Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief was born in the Osage reservation in Fairfax, Oklahoma. Her father was a member of the Osage Nation, and her mother was of Scottish-Irish descent. Her mother grew up in poverty and had to give up her dream to be a dancer, so she encouraged her two daughters to study ballet since they were young. At the age of 8, the family moved to Los Angeles, CA, to get her and her siblings into Hollywood musicals. There, she continued to learn ballet, as well as Spanish dancing, tap, and acrobatics. At the age of 12, she got accepted to Bronislava Nijinska’s studio, where she decided to become a professional ballerina. After graduating high school, Tallchief wanted to go to college, but her father refused to pay for it, stating that its time to find a job in dancing. She landed minor dancing roles in numerous movies, such as Presenting Lily Mars, starring Judy Garland. But this was not enough for her, so she moved to NYC. She applied to every dancing company in the city, rejected over and over again because of her Native American ancestry. Finally, she was accepted as an apprentice at Serge Denham’s company, not because of her skill but because of her passport allowing her to travel abroad. After a few months, she was promoted to a member dancer, replacing a dancer who left the company. On her first day as a company member, her former chronograph from LA who arrived in NYC to work with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo called to cast her as the first understudy for the lead role at Chopin Concerto. Soon, Tallchief received more and more parts, and within a year, she got promoted to the lead role. In her second year with the company, she received a solo in Le Beau Danube and was cast as the lead in Ancient Russia. Between tours, Tallchief took classes at the School of American Ballet, and on tours she studied from her experienced colleagues, practicing whenever she could, earning a name as a hard and dedicated worker. In 1944, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo hired the renowned choreographer George Balanchine for the company’s production of the Song of Norway, in which 19 years old Tallchief received a solo and was appointed as the understudy of the company’s Prima Ballerina. Recognizing her rare talent, Balanchine cast her in larger roles, such as part of a pas de trois (a three dancers act) in numerous productions, including Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Danses Concertantes. Under Balanchine’s leadership, Tallchief became a featured soloist, and she created and performed the Coquette in Night Shadow, the most technically challenging of the ballet. The relationship between Tallchief and her choreographer was strictly professional, and over time they became friends. In 1946 Balanchine surprised Tallchief with a marriage proposal, and the couple got married, she was 21, and he was 42. Though their marriage lasted only five years, the duo continued to work together for ten more years. In 1947, at the age of 22, Tallchief left Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and joined Balanchine in his new production for the Paris Opera Ballet in France. There, she was cast in the lead roles in Le Baiser de la fée and Apollo and made history as the first American to perform with the prestigious French company. On their return to NYC, Tallchief was named first prima ballerina of the newly formed New York City Ballet, a title she held for 13 years. During this period, Balanchine created roles specifically for her, such as the Swan Queen Swan Lake and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, in which her performance established the ballet as the Christmas classic it is today. Tallchief’s dance style was revolutionary at the time and was characterized by technical abilities, athleticism, and precise footwork. She became known for dazzling the audience with her “electrifying passion.” As the first major Prima ballerina in the US, ballet companies from all around the world wanted to work with her. And in addition to the New York City Ballet, Tallchief performed with other notable companies, including the San Francisco Ballet, the Chicago Opera Ballet, the Hamburg Ballet, and the Royal Danish Ballet. In 1960, at the age of 35, Tallchief left the New York City Ballet and joined the American Ballet Theatre as a prima ballerina. In that same year, she became the first American dancer to perform at the famed Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. She continued to perform throughout the world and made guest appearances with various symphony orchestras. In 1966, at 41, she retired from dancing and moved to Chicago. There, she worked as a ballet instructor, served as artistic director for the Lyric Opera Ballet, and founded its ballet school. In 1981, Tallchief and her sister founded the Chicago City Ballet, where she served as the company’s co-artistic director (in 1987 the ballet was closed due to financial issues). Throughout her life, Tallchief frequently spoke against discrimination and stereotypes toward Native Americans. She served as director of the Indian Council Fire Achievement Award and was actively involved with America for Indian Opportunity. Tallchief died at the age of 88 from complications of a hip injury. Read more...

Rosa Dolores Alverio was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, and grew up in nearby Juncos. At the age of 5, after her parents divorced, she moved with her mother to NYC. When her mother remarried, she adopted her stepfather’s surname – Moreno. The family settled in Valley Stream, New York, where she took dance classes and paved her way into the entertainment industry. At 11, she began dubbing Spanish-language versions of American films, and at 13, she had her Broadway debut, playing Angelina in Skydrift. Five years later, Moreno had her first big-screen appearance in the movie So Young, So Bad, and after it, she adapted her stage name – Rita Moreno. She acted throughout the 1950s, landing small roles in notable films such as Singin’ in the Rain and The King and I. In 1961, Moreno played Anita’s role in the film adaptation of West Side Story, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress – the first Hispanic woman to win an Oscar. With such accolade in her resume, Moreno thought that she would be able to play less stereotypical characters for her next films, and with no such offer, she did not perform in another movie for the next seven years. At 33, she returned to Broadway, performing in The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, and continued to play in one production after another, winning her Tony in 1975 for her depiction of Googie Gomez in The Ritz. In 1968 Moreno returned to film, starring alongside Marlon Brando in The Night of the Following Day. She continued to steadily appear on screen in different genres, from romantic comedies such as The Four Seasons to dramas such as King of the Corner. Moreno’s first serious role in TV was in 1971 in the children’s series The Electric Company, becoming recognized for shouting the show’s opening line, “Hey, you guys!” and winning a Grammy Award with her fellow cast members. In 1977, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for her appearance on The Muppet Show, becoming the first Hispanic woman and the third person to win an EGOT – Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Over the years, she made guest appearances on numerous TV shows, including The Love Boat, The Golden Girls, The Nanny, and Miami Vice, and steady roles in various acclaimed shows, such as Sister Pete on Oz and as the matriarch Lydia Riera on One Day at a Time. Read more...

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born in Houston, Texas. Her talent in dancing and singing was discovered at a young age, and by the age of 7, she won her first award at a talent show at her school. She attended a music magnet school in Houston, where she performed with the school’s choir as well as her local Church. At age 8, she and her friend Kelly Rowland joined a group called “Girl’s Tyme,” and together they appeared in the talent show “Star Search.” Beyoncé’s father, Matthew Knowles, resigned his job to serve as the band’s manager. He changed their name to Destiny’s Child, and Beyoncé became the lead vocalist. In 1998, Destiny’s Child released their first album that includes the major hit “No, No, No.” Afterward, they became one of the most popular R&B acts. Two years later, the group released its second album, “The Writing’s on the Wall,” which included the #1 singles “Bills, Bills, Bills,” and “Say My Name.” Beyoncé began to focus on individual projects, and in 2003, she released her first solo album, “Dangerously in Love,” for which she won five Grammy Awards. A year later, Destiny’s Child was officially disbanded. In her second album, “B’Day,” she continued to hit the charts with singles such as “Irreplaceable” and “Déjà vu.” In 2008, soon after she married the rapper and producer Jay-Z, she released her 3rd album “I Am… Sasha Fierce,” that includes the iconic “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” as well as “Halo” and “If I Were a Boy.” The album, named after Beyoncé’s alter ego, sold 482,000 copies in its first week. For this album, she won 6 Grammy Awards, out of 10 nominations. In 2009, at the age of 28, Beyoncé sang Etta James’s “At Last” at President Barack Obama’s first inaugural ball (she later sang the American national anthem at his second inauguration). In the following years, she founded Parkwood Entertainment, an entertainment company that manages Beyoncé’s products as a brand in music, movies, and fashion. In 2011, her 4th album “4” was released. The album was Beyoncé’s 4th consecutive number-one album in the US. Not long after giving birth to her first child Blue Ivy, she made her first appearance at the Superbowl halftime show. With 268,000 tweets per minute, the performance became the second most tweeted about moment in history. Three years later, she made her second appearance at the national event. In 2013, Beyoncé once again broke a record when her 5th album “Beyoncé” sold more than 800,000 copies in its first weekend. By that, she made history for becoming the first woman to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for five consecutive number-one albums in the US, a record she will break again in her sixth album. In 2016 she released an hour-long film and an album called “Lemonade,” focusing on her reeling from the romantic and sexual betrayal of her partner. This album, too, hit number one on the US Billboard 200. Beyoncé continues to work on music projects, participate in films, and tour around the world. It was once written about her – “Beyoncé doesn’t release albums; she creates cultural events.” Read more...

When she was 58 years, old Madonna stepped on the stage to receive Billboard’s 2016 Woman of the Year award. The highest-grossing female touring artist of all time was selected due to her influence on music, her vision, innovation, philanthropic work, and her contribution to feminist change towards equal rights. Madonna used the occasion to deliver a daring speech, describing the sexist and ageist behavior that she had to overcome in her career as a musician, actress, and entrepreneur. She outlined her path from her childhood in a small Michigan town, through her first years as a struggling dancer in late 1970s New York City, to becoming the “Queen of Pop Music” with 14 albums, dozen of top hits worldwide, sales of 300 million records and many awards. In 2019 she released her 14th album, ‘Madame X,’ a name given to her by Martha Graham. She delivered her first birth at 38 and is now a single mother of six. Through her career, she pushed the boundaries of music and gender politics. Her influence on women’s liberation was by presenting new ways of owning her sexuality through mainstream media. Read more...

Katherine Mary Dunham was born in Chicago in 1909. Her father was a descendant of slaves from West Africa, and her mother was a mix of French-Canadian and Native-American heritage. From a young age, she was interested in writing and dance. She went to study anthropology at the University of Chicago. She continued studying classical ballet and forming her first dance group, which was one of the first companies of all-black dancers. At 23, she opened her first dance school, the Negro Dance Group. Three years later, she chose to focus on dance after receiving a grant and visiting in the Caribbean islands and Haiti as an anthropology student. Her field of mastery was in the dance rituals of the African diaspora in the Caribbean. Her studies inspired her unique technique, which revolutionized the world of dance by combining the Caribbean and African ritual rhythm and movement, with European modern and ballet dancing. Dunham and the Negro Dance Group performed together and separately in Chicago and New York City with choreography created by Dunham. They were well-received by critics and crowds. After the immense success which led them to Broadway, she opened the “Katherine Dunham School of Dance and Theatre” near Times Square in NYC. The school taught dance, drama, performing arts, applied skills, humanities, cultural studies, and Caribbean research, and was an inspiration for art schools worldwide. Dunham and her dance company toured all over the world for many years, introducing her novel technique of dance. Due to financial difficulties, they returned to the US, and Dunham did choreographic commissions across the US and Europe. Among the many firsts she acclaimed are one of the first African-American women to earn a degree from the University of Chicago, the first American dancer to present indigenous forms on a concert stage, the first to sustain a black dance company, the first African-American to choreograph for the New York’s Metropolitan Opera. In 1967 she officially retired but continued to choreograph. She died in 2006, a month before her 97th birthday. Read more...

Janet Faye Collins (1917-2003) was born in New Orleans and grew up in Los Angeles. She began to study dance at the age of ten. Her first teacher was a neighbor, who agreed to give her lessons in exchange for costumes made by her seamstress mother. She studied ballet at the Los Angeles Catholic Community Center, one of the few places which accepted black students. At 16, she auditioned for the prestigious Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. They asked her to paint her face white to perform. She declined the offer, saying, “I thought talent mattered, not color.” In the 1940s, she became the principal dancer for two Los Angeles musical productions and worked with a black dance troupe directed by Katherine Dunham. She also appeared in films and TV productions. In 1949, Collins made her New York debut performing her choreography, based on her “3-Bs” – blackness, ballet, and the Bible. At the age of 34, she was hired by the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York City as its Prima Ballerina. She was the first black dancer to be working under a full-time contract at a major American ballet company. She performed there for 4 years before leaving to teach modern dance in several institutions and performing solo dance concerts in the United States and Canada. In 1974 she retired from performing and teaching and spent her days focusing on religion and painting religious subjects in her studio in Seattle. When she died, at 86, the mourners at the service released butterflies.   Read more...