Sydney King, Marion Cuyjet, and the Philadelphia School of the Dance Arts
Joan Myers Brown received her training from Essie Marie Dorsey as well as from Marion Cuyjet and Sydney King at the Sydney-Marion School. After the schism between the two women, Myers Brown remained with King, alongside peers Betsy Ann Dickerson, Barbara Harper, and Billy Wilson. While a student, Myers Brown benefitted from teaching experience as King implemented a system in which advanced students taught the younger students. Also serving as a bookkeeper, cashier and studio manager for King to cover the cost of her classes, Myers Brown was able to learn about all aspects of running a business. She was then more prepared to start her own business—the Philadelphia School of the Dance Arts.
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More about the Philadelphia School of the Dance Arts
Joan Myers Brown’s Philadelphia School of the Dance Arts was first established in 1960 on 52nd and Walnut Street in West Philadelphia (White-Dixon 28). The school began with just 30 students with attendance rates increasing every year. Though her teachers’ goals were to create accomplished individuals, Myers Brown wanted to train professional dancers, with the school’s philosophy being, “Our school is a place where dancers grow, where young people are given positive directives, where the community shares in its potential.”
Myers Brown served as the principal ballet teacher at the school; hired teachers for modern, tap, jazz, and acrobatics; and brought in guest teachers from New York. Additionally, Myers Brown had her advanced students teach, just as her own teachers had done.
Myers Brown followed the tradition of her foremothers, offering a diverse curriculum and epic recitals. Every year, her students performed at the Philadelphia Academy of Music. Myers Brown believes it is important that children have the experience of performing in a real theater, regardless of whether or not they will become professional dancers. Like her mentors, she is a pioneer, breaking down barriers. In 1970, Myers Brown founded The Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco) as a way to give the dancers she trained a performing outlet in concert dance (an opportunity that she was not afforded). Among those who taught or choreographed at Philadanco include: Billy Wilson, Delores Browne, Talley Beatty, Gene Hill Sagan, Louis Johnson, Milton Myers, Denise Jefferson, George Faison, Donald Byrd, Camille A. Brown, and Christopher Huggins. Her organization has always been diverse, including the administration, faculty, company, choreographers, and students. Myers Brown is adamant about opening doors and providing opportunities for all.
The Philadelphia School of the Dance Arts is still active, having celebrated its 60th year in May 2020. Notable alumni of the school include Deborah Manning (former dancer with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater), Leslie Odom Jr. (actor/singer known for Hamilton and Smash), and Lee Daniels (filmmaker and producer of The Butler and Empire). Philadanco is now “recognized as one of the leading modern dance companies in the United States” (28).
Sources:
Sydney King and Marion Cuyjet, MoBBallet
Philadelphia School of Dance Arts celebrates 60th anniversary, Annenberg Center
Our History, Philadanco
White-Dixon, Melanye. “The Legacy of Black Philadelphia’s Dance Institutions and the Educators Who Built the Tradition.” Dance Research Journal, vol. 23, no. 1, 1991, pp. 25–30. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/1478695. Accessed 27 May 2021.
Written and/or compiled by Mad Crawford
