Hortense Allen Jordan (September 17, 1919 – March 15, 2008) was an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

dance 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 ...

costume designer A costume designer is a person who designs costumes for a film, stage production or television show. The role of the costume designer is to create the characters' outfits or costumes and balance the scenes with texture and colour, etc. The costum ...

, and producer.

Personal life

Born Hiawatha Hortense Allen, Jordan was born on September 17, 1919. She had 12 siblings and was raised in

East St. Louis, Illinois East St. Louis, also known as ESTL, is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It is directly across the Mississippi River from downtown St. Louis, Missouri, and the Gateway Arch National Park. East St. Louis is in the Metro East ...

. Hortense Jordan married

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 ...

detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...

Theodore Jordan in 1955. She had three sons, Dewey Allen, Theodore Jordan Sr. and Philip Allen. Hortense Jordan died on March 15, 2008, due to

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome caused by an impairment in the heart's ability to Cardiac cycle, fill with and pump blood. Although symptoms vary based on which side of the heart is affected, HF ...

Career

She started her dance career when she was fourteen years old. Jordan was mentored by and worked with

Leonard Reed Leonard Reed (January 7, 1907 in Lightning Creek, Oklahoma – April 5, 2004 in West Covina, California) was an American Tap dance, tap dancer, co-creator with his partner, Willie Bryant, of the famous Shim Sham Shimmy (Goofus) tap dance routine. ...

and

Larry Steele Larry Nelson Steele (born May 5, 1949) is a former professional basketball player, best known for being on the Portland Trail Blazers team that won the 1977 NBA Finals. Early life Born in Greencastle, Indiana, Steele grew up in Bainbridge, ...

early on in her career. In 1947, Jordan appeared with

Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...

and his orchestra in the movie ''

Rhythm in a Riff ''Rhythm in a Riff'' is a 1947 medium-length musical film produced by William D. Alexander and directed by Leonard Anderson. The film stars Billy Eckstine and his band performing, as well as Ann Baker, Hortense Allen Jordan, Sarah Harris, and Em ...

.'' In the 1950s, Jordan was dancing and leading chorus lines at the Paramount Theater,

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 ...

Club Harlem Club Harlem was a nightclub at 32 North Kentucky Avenue in the Northside, Atlantic City, Northside neighborhood of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Founded in 1935 by Leroy "Pop" Williams, it was the city's premier club for black jazz performers. Like ...

, and the Robin Hood Dell. In the 1970s, Jordan led a mostly African-American woman dance troupe based in Philadelphia referred to as the Hortense Allen Dancers. The Hortense Allen Dancers performed frequently at the Robin Hood Dell throughout the 1970s and accompanied performances by

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roo ...

. Jordan was the 1995 artistic director for ''Stepping in Time,'' a music and dance performance composed of African American performers that was sponsored and produced by the Philadelphia Folklore Project. Jordan's dancing career was also featured in the video documentary ''Plenty of Good Women Dancers'' that was broadcast on public television in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Hortense Allen 1919 births African-American female dancers African-American dancers African-American choreographers American choreographers American costume designers 2008 deaths People from Illinois