Hope Clarke facts for kids

Hope Clarke (born March 23, 1941) is an amazing American artist. She is an actress, dancer, singer, choreographer (someone who creates dance routines), and director. Hope Clarke was nominated for a Tony Award, which is a very important award for theater. In 1995, she made history! She became the first African-American person, and the first African-American woman, to direct and create the dances for a big show of the famous opera, Porgy and Bess.

Hope Clarke started her career as a main dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She also acted in many plays, movies, and TV shows. As a choreographer, she created dances and movements for over 30 shows on and off Broadway.

Early Life and Education

Hope Clarke grew up in Washington, D.C.. She took dance classes with her sister at the Alma Davis Dance School. When she was a senior in high school, she was a lead dancer with Doris Jones' company in D.C. She also worked a summer job for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Hope grew up in a close-knit Black community. People often bought clothes from mail-order catalogs because they weren't always welcome in stores. Clarke once said, "The black community, as I remember it, was very closely knit. Before the fabric of this society was torn by racism and lack of education, we all took care of each other. We all watched each other's children." This shows how much people supported each other in her community.

Hope Clarke's Career Journey

From West Side Story to Broadway Hits

In 1959, Hope Clarke got a role in the original touring show of West Side Story. Her sister encouraged her to try out, and she got the part! She joined the show in Chicago and stayed with it until April 1960.

In 1961, Clarke appeared in a play called Kwamina. It was a love story with actors Brock Peters and Robert Guillaume. The dances were created by Agnes de Mille. In 1967, she had a small role in Hallelujah, Baby!. This musical won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

In 1966, Clarke danced in the Metropolitan Opera's first show, Antony and Cleopatra. She also played Mamselle Tulip in House of Flowers in 1968. In 1969, she was in a play called “The Reckoning” at the St. Mark’s Playhouse. This theater often showed plays by the Negro Ensemble Company.

In 1970, Clarke was a dancer in “Purlie,” a musical nominated for five Tony Awards. In 1972, she performed in “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope.” This was a special musical because it was the first Broadway show directed by an African American woman, Vinnette Carroll.

Dancing with Famous Companies

Hope Clarke was a main dancer for two very famous groups: the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. With the Ailey company, she traveled all over the world. Audiences loved her performances and gave her many cheers. Besides dancing with Dunham and Ailey, Clarke also performed with dance companies led by Tally Beatty, George Faison, and Louis Johnson.

Clarke also helped start a dance group called the 5 Plus Ensemble (New Beginnings Theater). She created it with other dancers like Michael Blake, Carmen de Lavallade, and Sheila Rohan. This group was special because it showed the work of dancers, choreographers, and musicians who were over 50 years old.

Acting in Movies and TV Shows

After dancing on Broadway and around the world, Hope Clarke moved to Hollywood, California. Her friend, actor Raymond St. Jacques, helped her. She had some memorable movie roles. She acted with Sidney Poitier in A Piece of the Action (1977). She also worked with Raymond St. Jacques and Philip Michael Thomas in A Book of Numbers. Later, she played Jean-Michel Basquiat's mother, Matilde, in the movie Basquiat (1996).

Hope Clarke also had many guest roles on TV shows. These include Hill Street Blues, Amen, Another World, As the World Turns, Beat Street, Hart to Hart, Into the Night, The Jeffersons, The Ropers, Sex and the City, and Three's Company. She also appeared in the TV miniseries King (1978). This show was about the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the famous civil rights leader.

Tony Nomination and Choreography Work

In 1985, Clarke played “Ruby” in the musical Grind. In 1992, she was nominated for a Tony Award for “Best Choreography.” This was for her amazing dance work in the Broadway hit Jelly's Last Jam. The show started with small workshops in New York and a production in Los Angeles before becoming a big Broadway show.

In 1995, Clarke created the dances for “The Tempest.” In 2003, she started working on Caroline, or Change. This musical featured many different styles of music, like spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish Klezmer. Clarke was in charge of all the choreography for this show. It started off-Broadway, then moved to Broadway for 126 performances in 2004. It received six Tony Award nominations and won an Olivier Award in London for Best New Musical.

In 2010, Clarke choreographed A Free Man of Color. In 2017, she choreographed Fly, a play about the Tuskegee Airmen. The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American military pilots who fought in World War II. This play toured to many places, including the Alabama Shakespeare Festival and Ford's Theatre.

Working with George C. Wolfe

Hope Clarke has worked with director George C. Wolfe on many projects. Their first collaboration was on a play called The Colored Museum. Since then, they have worked together on 10 plays. These include the opera Amistad, the play Spunk, and Broadway shows like Caroline, Or Change, A Free Man of Color, and Jelly's Last Jam. Her work on Jelly's Last Jam earned her a Tony Award nomination.

Directing Porgy & Bess

In 1995, Hope Clarke directed the Houston Grand Opera's production of Porgy & Bess. This was a huge moment! She was the first African American person to direct a major professional U.S. show of “Porgy and Bess.” This opera is considered one of America’s greatest. The Houston Grand production cost two million dollars and toured across the United States, and even had performances in Italy and Japan.

In 2012, Clarke also directed a Morgan State University production of Porgy & Bess.

Hope Clarke's Own Words

Hope Clarke has shared some powerful thoughts about her work:

• “I want African Americans who come to see the opera to be proud that an African American is directing the production and to recognize the people on stage.”
• "Blacks and women have been locked out of directing major productions for too long. It's time for us not only to tell our stories but to direct them."
• "As a director, I guess I bring in the female sensibilities. Since I'm also an actress, I've really tried to develop the characterizations so that the performers don't do a little singing here, and some acting there. And coming from a black perspective, I know how we think, how we feel, what we do. I understand the little things. That makes a difference."
• “In my production, everybody works. Everybody has some type of job. Just because you are poor doesn't mean you have to be slovenly or ignorant."

Honors and Awards

Hope Clarke has received many awards and honors for her contributions to theater and dance:

• 2020 -- Elected to the Board of Directors for the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
• 2018–Received the 3rd Annual Project1VOICE HONORS, which celebrates artists who shape American culture.
• 2015 - 2018 Broadway seasons, served on the Tony Awards Nominating Committee.
• 2009 - 2012 Broadway Seasons, also served on the Tony Awards Nominating Committee.
• 2004—Won a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreographer for Caroline, Or Change.
• 2001—Nominated for an AUDELCO Recognition Award for Excellence in Black Theatre for A Prophet Among Them.
• 1998—Elected to the Board of Directors for the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers.
• 1993—Nominated for a Tony Award for Best Choreography (with Gregory Hines and Ted Levy) for Jelly's Last Jam.
• 1993—Won an Outer Critics Award for Best Choreography (with Gregory Hines and Ted Levy) for Jelly’s Last Jam.
• 1992—Nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography (with Gregory Hines and Ted Levy) for Jelly's Last Jam.
• 1991—Won an NAACP Image Award for Best Choreography for Jelly's Last Jam.
• 1988—Won a Drama Logue Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Colored Museum.

Credits

Stage Performances and Choreography

TV and Film Roles