Research Paper On Debbie Allen

Debbie Allen: A woman of many talents Debbie Allen is a well known figure in the entertainment industry, who has been around for years and shows no sign of stopping any time soon. Debbie Allen is an actress, dancer, and choreographer. Debbie Kaye Allen was born on January 16th, 1950 in Houston, Texas. Allen was born to the poet Vivian Ayers and a dentist Arthur Allen. She has two siblings. One of her siblings is the famous actress, director, and singer Phylicia Rashad . Her other sibling is Tex Allen who is a jazz music composer. When it comes to dancing, Allen began dancing when she was three years old. By the time she was four, she had decided that she wanted to be a professional entertainer. However, Allen did not enroll in dance …show more content…
In 1957, her parents divorced, leaving her mom Vivian a single parent. In 1960, Allens’ mother made a quick decision and decided to move the family to Mexico. After living in Mexico for two years, Debbie and her family moved back to Houston. Shortly after returning to Houston, Debbie Allen auditioned for the Houston Ballet School. Sadly, she was denied admission to the school because she was African American. Luckily, one of the russian instructors from the school saw how talented Debbie was and secretly enrolled her into the school. Eventually the admissions department became aware of Allens’ secret enrollment. However, it was too late and they let her stay at the school because she was on their top students. In 1966, at the age of sixteen, Allen auditioned for the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she believed she would be a dance stand out at the audition. She did fantastic at the audition, however her application was rejected because her body was not suited for ballet. At the time, body criticism was a technique used to discourage young black dancers from practicing Ballet. After the failed audition, Allen stopped dancing and focused solely on …show more content…
In 1972, Debbie Allen was cast as “Beneatha” in the musical “Raisin”. After “Raisin”, Allen participated in many other broadway shows. In 1977, she landed a starring role on the show 3 Girls 3. The show was an hour long variety show, in which Debbie Danced on the show. In 1979, Allen landed a small role in Alex Haleys mini- series Roots: The Next Generation which focused on race relations in America. In 1980, Allen got her biggest break. After starring in the Broadway show “ West Side Story”, she won a Tony Award nomination. From her success in the show, she was able to earn the role of a dance teacher named Lydia Grant in the movie “Fame”. In 1982, Allen reprised her role as Lydia Grant in the tv series “Fame”. Allen was the lead choreographer for both the film and tv series . Her choreo for “Fame” won three Emmys, and one Golden