Karen Brown (ballerina) facts for kids

Karen Brown (born 1955 in Okmulgee, Oklahoma) is a famous American ballerina, teacher, and director. She is known for being a main dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem for many years. She also made history as the first African-American woman to lead a ballet company.

Early Life and Dance

Karen Brown grew up in Augusta, Georgia, with six brothers and sisters. Her family worked in medicine. She and her brother Stephen were the first African-American children to attend Episcopal Day School, helping to integrate the school.

When she was eight years old, Karen started ballet lessons. Her mother encouraged her to dance because it helped her stop falling down! She studied with Ron Colton, a former dancer from the New York City Ballet. She also received a summer scholarship to study at the Joffrey Ballet school.

At 17, after dancing with the Augusta Civic Ballet for five years, Karen went to a ballet festival in Virginia. There, Karel Shook, a co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, saw her dance. He invited her to join the company in New York City.

A Career in Ballet

Karen Brown joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1973 as an apprentice. She quickly became a principal ballerina, which means she was one of the main dancers. In 1984, the New York Times praised her for being able to dance many different styles, from ballets with a story to those that were just about movement.

As a principal dancer, Karen toured all over the world. She traveled with the Dance Theatre of Harlem to Russia. This was special because they were the first American dance company to visit Russia after the Soviet Union ended. She also toured with the company to South Africa after apartheid ended.

Karen performed in many famous ballets. Some of these included Mendelssohn's Concerto, Holberg's Suite, Dougla, and Graduation Ball. She also danced in works by famous choreographers like George Balanchine (such as Agon and Serenade) and Agnes de Mille (Fall River Legend).

While dancing with the company, Karen also taught dance classes. She was part of Arthur Mitchell's "Dancing Through The Barriers" program. This program helped teach dance to many different people. She even appeared in a TV show about the program while teaching at The Kennedy Center.

After 22 years of dancing, Karen left the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1995. She then joined the Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education. There, she became the director of education and diversity.

Leading a Ballet Company

In 2000, Karen Brown made history. She was chosen to be the artistic director of the Oakland Ballet. This made her the first African-American woman to lead a ballet company ever! She was also the first African-American to lead a ballet company that had only been led by white directors before. When the Dance Theatre of Harlem stopped performing for a while in 2004, Karen was the only African-American artistic director of a ballet company in the world.

As a director, Karen wanted to make the ballet company more diverse. She wanted the dancers to look more like the people of Oakland. She also kept the tradition of performing classic ballets by choreographers like José Limón and Agnes de Mille. But she also added new works by modern choreographers such as Trey McIntyre and Donald McKayle.

One of her main goals was to show that there were many talented dancers of color who were trained in classical ballet. The mayor of Oakland at the time, Jerry Brown, said her work was great for the city. To help the Oakland Ballet stay open, Karen canceled the 2004 season. Instead, she focused on raising money and hiring new dancers for the company's 40th anniversary.

Karen left Oakland in 2007 to become an assistant professor of dance at the University of The Arts in Philadelphia.

Later Career and Recognition

While in Philadelphia, Karen Brown received a grant to study dance movement using computer programming. She also joined the faculty at the Harlem School of The Arts. She even returned to performing with a dance company called Paradigm, which featured older dancers. In 2010, she won a Bessie Award for her performances with this group.

In 2016, she became the executive director of Garth Fagan Dance. The next year, she was a guest artistic director for Ballet Wichita. In 2020, she became an assistant professor at the University of Missouri Kansas City Conservatory.

Personal Life

Karen Brown graduated from St. Mary's College of California in 2013.