From Ballet to Broadway and Black and Geoffrey Holder
Geoffrey Holder was an actor, dancer, choreographer, composer, dancer, and painter native to Port of Spain, Trinidad. After working as a principal dancer at the Metropolitan Opera Ballet 1955-1956, Holder decided to temporarily leave ballet and pursue a career in Broadway. His first Broadway debut was in Harold Arlon’s House of Flowers where he played the role of Samedi and choreographed the Banda Dance in the show. While working on House of Flowers, Holder met Alvin Ailey, who he would continue to work extensively with, and Carmen de Lavallade, who would eventually become his wife.
Holder also created the famous Trinidadian ballet, Dougla, for the Dance Theater of Harlem in 1974. The sometimes derogatory term,”dougla”, refers to someone who is of African and South Asian descent and the ballet showcases the beauty and complexities of mixed culture through the depiction of a Dougla wedding ritual.
Sources:
Geoffrey Holder Biography, Wikipedia
Geoffrey Holder Biography, The Museum City of New York
Geoffrey Holder Biography, The History Makers
Geoffrey Holder’s Dougla, Culture View MIA
More about Geoffrey Holder
Geoffrey Holder (1930-2014), a native of Trinidad, was an actor, dancer, choreographer, composer, designer, and painter. His brother Arthur Aldwyn Holder taught him how to paint and dance, including Geoffrey in the Holder Dancing Company at age seven. He started performing on Broadway in 1954 in House of Flowers, followed by roles in Waiting for Godot (1957) and later, Josephine Baker (1964). His filmography includes roles in Doctor Dolittle (1967), the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973), and Annie (1982). He was also well known for his commercials promoting 7Up.
Sources:
Morinsola Tinubu
