Carmen de Lavallade

American Actress, Dancer & Choreographer

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Carmen de Lavallade Biography

Carmen de Lavallade has had an unparalleled career in dance, theater, film and television beginning in her hometown of Los Angeles performing with the Lester Horton Dance Theater. While in Los Angeles, Lena Horne introduced the then 17 year old de Lavallade to the filmmakers at 20th Century Fox where she appeared in four movies, including Carmen Jones (1954) with Dorothy Dandridge and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) with Harry Belafonte. During the filming of Carmen Jones, she met Herbert Ross, who asked her to appear as a dancer in the Broadway production of House of Flowers. Her dance career includes having ballets created for her by Lester Horton, Geoffrey Holder, Alvin Ailey, Glen Tetley, John Butler and Agnes de Mille.

Carmen de Lavallade succeeded her cousin Janet Collins as the principal dancer with the Metropolitan Opera and was a guest artist with the American Ballet Theater. She has choreographed for the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Philadanco, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the productions of Porgy and Bess and Die Meistersinger at the Metropolitan Opera.

Ms. de Lavallade also has had an extensive acting career performing in numerous off-Broadway productions including Death of a Salesman and Othello. She taught movement for actors at Yale and became a member of the Yale Repertory Company and the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard.

She and her husband, Geoffrey Holder, were the subjects of the film Carmen & Geoffrey (2005), which chronicled their sixty year partnership and artistic legacy. Her most recent work includes 651 ARTS’ FLY: Five First Ladies of Dance (2009), Step-Mother by Ruby Dee (2009), Post Black by Regina Taylor (2011), and the Broadway production of A Streetcar Named Desire (2012).

Ms. de Lavallade is currently touring a dance/theater work about her life entitled As I Remember It, which premiered in June 2014. Lauded by numerous institutions, Ms. de Lavallade received the Dance Magazine Award in 1964, an honorary doctorate of Fine Arts from the Juilliard School in 2007, the Duke Ellington Fellowship Award, and the Dance USA Award in 2010. From Broadway to the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. de Lavallade has performed on the world’s greatest stages and with such legendary artists as Josephine Baker and Duke Ellington. In her eighties and still performing with a supreme level of grace and elegance, Carmen de Lavallade is an icon in the truest sense of the word – inspiring generations of artists and audiences.

Carmen de Lavallade Speaking Topics

  • As I Remember It

    As I Remember It is an intimate portrait of the legendary artist Carmen de Lavallade told through dance, film and her personal writings. Created by Ms. de Lavallade in collaboration with director Joe Grifasi and co-writer/dramaturg Talvin Wilks, this hour-long original work traces a career that spans over six decades.

    The video and set design create a sense of time and place – from her childhood days playing in the empty lots of 1930’s Los Angeles to performing on many of the world’s grand stages. As I Remember It features Ms. de Lavallade performing with projections of her younger self as well as with films featuring some of her significant collaborators. Stories of her years in California dancing with Lester Horton, in New York with Alvin Ailey and her time spent as a member of the Yale Repertory Theatre frame the evening.

Carmen de Lavallade Videos

  • Carmen de Lavallade Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2014 - YouTube
  • Dancer Carmen de Lavallade Reflects on Her Career in "As I Remember It"

FAQs on booking Carmen de Lavallade

  • How do I book Carmen de Lavallade to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Carmen de Lavallade for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Carmen de Lavallade, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Carmen de Lavallade or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for Carmen de Lavallade

    Speaking fees for Carmen de Lavallade, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Carmen de Lavallade are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Carmen de Lavallade, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Carmen de Lavallade speak about?

    Carmen de Lavallade is a keynote speaker and industry expert whose speaking topics include Performing Arts.
  • Where does Carmen de Lavallade travel from?

    Carmen de Lavallade generally travels from an undisclosed location, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is Carmen de Lavallade’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Carmen de Lavallade for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Carmen de Lavallade for your next private or corporate function.
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    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Carmen de Lavallade or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
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    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Carmen de Lavallade is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics such as As I Remember It. The estimated speaking fee range to book Carmen de Lavallade for your event is $10,000 - $20,000. Carmen de Lavallade generally travels from and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Misty Copeland, Aesha Ash, Leiomy Maldonado, Maggie Kudirka and Leanne Pero. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Carmen de Lavallade for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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