Lavinia Williams facts for kids

Lavinia Williams (July 2, 1916 – July 19, 1989) was a famous American dancer and dance teacher. She was sometimes known by her married name, Lavinia Williams Yarborough. She started national dance schools in several Caribbean countries.

A Life in Dance

Lavinia Williams was born Grace Lavinia Poole Williams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was the second of six children in her family. Her family had roots in the West Indies. She grew up in Portsmouth, Virginia and Brooklyn, New York.

Lavinia studied at Washington Irving High School. She then went to the Art Students League of New York. There, she joined the American Negro Ballet. This was the start of her exciting career. She performed with many dance groups and in stage shows.

Her dance work included many styles. She performed classical ballet, folk dance, and modern dance. She also danced in musicals. Most importantly, she became a master of Caribbean dance. She learned this style in the 1940s while working with Katherine Dunham.

From 1953 until the late 1980s, Lavinia dedicated her life to teaching dance. She founded and helped build national dance schools. These schools were in countries like Haiti, Guyana, and the Bahamas.

She spent most of her later years teaching in New York City. In February 1984, she moved from the United States to Haiti. Lavinia Williams passed away in Port-au-Prince on July 19, 1989.

Lavinia Williams teaching at her last dance workshop in New York City.

Family Life

Lavinia Williams married Léon Theremin in the mid-1930s. In 1938, Theremin suddenly went back to the Soviet Union. He was held there, and Lavinia never saw him again for many years.

Later, in the late 1940s, she married Shannon Yarborough. They had two daughters, Sharron and Sara. Her younger daughter, Sara Yarborough-Smith, became a professional dancer too. Sara danced with famous groups like the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Dance Theater of Harlem.

In 1974, Lavinia found out that Theremin was still alive. She was very happy to hear this. They started writing letters to each other after that.