George W. Faison (born December 21, 1945) is an American

dancer Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

, and theater producer, and winner of a 1975 Tony, a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

, and a 1991 nominee for the

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...

for choreography. He was a featured dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, founder of the George Faison Universal Dance Experience, and co-founder/producing artistic director of the Faison Firehouse Theater.

Early life

Faison was born December 21, 1945, in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and attended Dunbar High School. As a student he performed with the American Light Opera Company in ''

Show Boat ''Show Boat'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It is based on Edna Ferber's best-selling 1926 Show Boat (novel), novel of the same name. The musical follows the lives of the per ...

'' and studied with the Jones-Haywood Capitol Ballet and Carolyn Tate of

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, where he matriculated in 1964. While at Howard, Faison had initially planned to pursue dentistry. But while there, he worked with director Owen Dodson and saw a production of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. This helped him make the decision to move to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and become a dancer. In New York, he took classes with James Truitte, Dudley Williams, Arthur Mitchell, June Taylor, Claude Thompson and Charles Moore at the School of American Ballet.

Career

From 1967 to 1969, Faison danced with the Ailey, leaving in 1970. He danced in the original 1970 Broadway production of '' Purlie'' and founded the George Faison Universal Dance Experience with a budget of six hundred dollars in 1971. The group’s dancers included Faison (who also choreographed and served as Artistic Director), Renee Rose, Al Perryman, Gary DeLoatch and Debbie Allen. During this period, he created several notable pieces, including "Suite Otis" in 1971 (set to the music of

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

) for five couples, combining elements of ballet and contemporary styles. Faison's Broadway debut as choreographer occurred in 1972 with '' Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope'', followed by other shows, including '' Via Galactica'', ''Tilt'' and ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'', where he worked with

Stephanie Mills Stephanie Dorthea Mills (born March 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She rose to stardom as Dorothy Gale in the original seven-time Tony Awards, Tony Award winning Broadway theatre, Broadway run of the musical ''The Wiz'' ...

and Geoffrey Holder. Later in his career he worked as a choreographer for entertainers like Ashford and Simpson, Earth, Wind and Fire,

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

and

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick ( ; born Marie Dionne Warrick; December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. During her career, Warwick has won many awards, including six Grammy Awards. She has been inducted into the Hollywood Wa ...

. He choreographed over two dozen musicals, including the Broadway show '' 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue'' (1967) with music by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

; a

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall (also known as Radio City) is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York C ...

production of ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' ( ) is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play ''Porgy (play), ...

'' (1983); and ''Sing, Mahalia, Sing'' (1985) at the Shubert Theater in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He directed and choreographed the show ''The Apollo - Just Like Magic'' (1981) at the Warner Theater in

(which re-created the golden age of the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

) and choreographed the world premiere of Harry Partch's ''Revelation in the Courthouse Park'' (staged by Jiri Zizka) for the American Music Theater Festival in 1987. In 1989 he conceived and produced the television special, ''Cosby Salutes Ailiey'' in celebration of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's thirtieth anniversary. He won an Emmy Award for his choreography in the HBO special '' The Josephine Baker Story'' in 1991. In 1997, Faison directed and choreographed ''King'', a musical performed at

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

’s inauguration.

Faison Firehouse Theater

In 1997, Faison founded the American Performing Arts Collaborative (APAC), using the arts to interact with and inspire young people. Two years later, he purchased an abandoned firehouse on Hancock Place (one block south of 125th St) and renovated it over the next decade. The building, designed by Howard Constable in 1908, was originally home to the Hook and Ladder No. 40 Company. Currently the building features a 350-seat auditorium, a café, dance and rehearsal space, and a recording studio. The official inaugural performance at the Faison Firehouse in Fall 2007 featured guest speaker

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and is credi ...

, in addition to professional musical theater and dance performances (choreographed/directed by Faison) and a performance by APAC youth.Richardson, Clem (26 September 2011
"Famed choreographer Faison transforms Harlem theater into opportunity, employment for kids"
''New York Daily News''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faison, George 1945 births 20th-century African-American educators 20th-century American educators Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni Howard University alumni People from Washington, D.C. Living people American male dancers American choreographers Dancers from Washington, D.C. Musical theatre choreographers 21st-century African-American people Tony Award winners