Claire Haywood

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Claire Haywood
Claire Helen Haywood 1948.jpeg
Haywood in 1948
Born
Claire Helen Haywood

(1916-05-23)May 23, 1916
Atlanta, Georgia
DiedSeptember 23, 1978(1978-09-23) (aged 62)
NationalityUnited States
Alma materSpelman College
Howard University
OccupationBallet teacher
OrganizationJones-Haywood School of Ballet

Claire Helen Haywood (September 11, 1916 – September 23, 1978) was a ballet dancer and teacher, called a “grand dame of Black dance in Washington”.[1] With Doris W. Jones, she cofounded the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in 1941 to give African American students the opportunity to study classical ballet. She also cofounded the and became its artistic director.

Early life[]

Claire Helen Haywood was born on September 11, 1916 in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] She earned a BA from Spelman College in 1932 and an MA from Howard University in 1936.[2] She also completed work toward a PhD at Catholic University of America.[2]

Career[]

Haywood studied dance with Doris W. Jones and in 1940 persuaded Jones to move to Washington, D.C.[3] In 1941, she and Jones founded what became the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet,[2] initially occupying temporary wartime space, then moving to a clapboard house on Delafield Place, Northwest, with a house attached to the studio, which Jones and Haywood shared.[1] Both women were African-American dancers themselves and their integrated school offered training in classical ballet to African-American students denied admission to white dance schools.[4] In 1974 Haywood told a reporter, “Much talent has been thrown away over the years because the opportunities just weren’t there.”[1] The article went on: “It was an earlier lack of opportunities that made teaching an obsession with both women.”[1] Among the students who thrived under their supervision at the Jones-Haywood School were eventual Broadway star Chita Rivera,[5] Dutch National Ballet principal dancer ,[6] choreographer ,[7] and ballerina Sandra Fortune-Green.[1] Haywood served as a teacher and then became co-director in 1950.[2] She also cofounded the , and became its artistic director in 1961.[2] Through the 1970s, School and Company were the only such institution for African American ballet dancers outside of Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem.[8]

Haywood was also a visual artist, exhibiting in Atlanta and Martha's Vineyard as well as D.C.[2]

In 1976, Haywood and Jones were the subject of a documentary film called Artists of the Dance.[2][9]

Death[]

Claire Helen Haywood died in September 23, 1978.[10] She was 62.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Trescott, Jacqueline (1974-05-24). "Sandra Fortune Smiles on Capitol Ballet Company". The Sacramento Bee. pp. 6, 7, 8. Archived from the original on 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Claire Haywood Dies, Founded Ballet School". The Evening Star. Washington, D.C. September 25, 1978. p. 19.
  3. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (2006-04-04). "Doris W. Jones, 92, Ballet Dancer Who Founded School for Blacks, Is Dead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  4. ^ Rivers, Megan (February 22, 2021). "Jones-Haywood Dance School celebrates 80 years in DC". wusa9.com. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Sarah L (March 15, 2016). "How Chita Rivera keeps dancing at 83, with 16 screws in her leg". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  6. ^ Dunning, Jennifer (1997-04-06). "Sylvester Campbell, 59, a Pioneer Among Black Classical Dancers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  7. ^ Kourlas, Gia (2020-04-10). "Louis Johnson, 90, Genre-Crossing Dancer and Choreographer, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  8. ^ Kriegsman, Alan M. (1978-12-10). "New Strides for Black Dancers". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2021-06-16. Retrieved 2021-05-22.
  9. ^ "Artists of the Dance". Marysville Journal-Tribune. 1985-01-21. p. 13. Archived from the original on 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2021-05-23.
  10. ^ "Haywood, Claire (c. 1916–1978)." Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages, edited by Anne Commire and Deborah Klezmer, vol. 1, Yorkin Publications, 2007, pp. 846-847. Via Gale eBooks.
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