As a member of the Capitol Ballet, Cowan appeared with the company on April 22, 1970 at the Henderson A. Johnson Gymnasium at Fisk University, with Sandra Fortune Green on April 13, 1978 at the Dunbar Performing Arts Center in the Le Corsaire pas de deux and Belong, with April Berry in a pas de deux by Keith Lee in February 1979, and again with Fortune Green in November 1979. The Washington Post declared Cowan Lydia Abarca’s “able partner” in a February 1978 performance at Lisner Auditorium.

He and his wife Lillie Shade had three children. Cowan passed away at age 46 on April 4, 2000 at Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Sources:

‘Admirable’ Top Word For Ballet, The Tennessean
Leroy Cowan, The Herald
Ballerina, Company Scheduled At Dunbar, The Evening Sun
A Fallow Period for The Capitol Ballet, The Washington Post
Capitol Dancing, The Washington Post
Seacoast Sketches, New York Public Library