 |
| Photo Credit: anastasiaruth.wordpress.com |
This week marks three years since brilliant and beloved poet Maya
Angelou passed at the age of 86. And of course, we're taking the time to
remember timeless works like
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. But
we also discovered something that makes us love Angelou even more—and
gives us a new perspective on her writing. Before she became renowned
for her poetry and memoirs, Angelou was a bonafide professional dancer,
touring Europe in a production of
Porgy & Bess, studying with Martha Graham and performing with Alvin Ailey (she was even one of Ailey's first partners!). She was also a professional singer and recorded an album called "Calypso Lady," according to NPR.
"I was known as Miss Calypso, and when I'd forget the lyric, I would
tell the audience, 'I seem to have forgotten the lyric. Now I will
dance.' And I would move around a bit," she said in a 2008 interview. Of course, later in her career Angelou acted in various movies and television shows, including the mini-series
Roots.
Dance Magazine
