DEBBIE ALLEN , a graduate of Howard University in drama and classics, continues to be one of the most respected talents in the entertainment industry today. Ms. Allen received the Golden Globe for Best Actress as Lydia Grant in the hit series "Fame." She is a three-time Emmy winner for Choreography for the series "Fame" and "The Motown 25th Anniversary Special." Ms. Allen has won 10 Image Awards as a director, actress, choreographer and producer for "A Different World," " Motown 25th," "The Academy Awards," "Fame," "The Debbie Allen Special" and Amistad. She has directed and choreographed the legendary artists Lena Horne, Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Cynthia Gregory, Gwen Verdon, Sammy Davis Jr., Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston and Placido Domingo, to name a few. Debbie made her Broadway debut in the chorus of Purlie, created the role of Beneatha in the Tony Award-winning musical Raisin, and for the 1979 definitive revival of West Side Story she received the prestigious Drama Desk Award, as well as her first Tony nomination. Allen received her second Tony Award nomination in 1986 for her performance in the title role of Bob Fosse's Sweet Charity. She was trained by Uta Hagen at the HB Studios in NY. Ms. Allen has worked for more than a decade as artist in residence at the Kennedy Center as a writer, director, choreographer, composer and actress, collaborating with James Ingram, Arturo Sandoval, Diane Louie, Andrew "Tex" Allen and Karen-??????? creating SRO productions of Pepito's Story, Brother of the Knight, Pearl, Soul Possessed, Harriet's Return, Dreams, Dancing in the Wings and Alex in Wonderland. The artistic director and founder of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles, Ms. Allen has had the privilege of working with Jerome Robbins, Bob Fosse, Lloyd Richards, Donald McKayle, George Faison, Derek Wolcott, Kenny Leon, Kent Gash, Allan Johnson, Mike Malone, Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, Steven Spielberg, Milos Forman and Vivian Ayers. She is mother to Vivian and Thump; wife of NBA all-star Norman Nixon; sister to Phylicia, Tex and Hugh; daughter of Dr. A.A. Allen and Vivian Ayers. Ms. Allen hopes that her work will inspire others To Dare, To Dream, To Do.

Previously seen in Show Theatre Role Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Broadhurst Theatre Director

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