Emmy Award-winning actress and choreographer Debbie Allen was the guest speaker Feb. 2 as part of a series for Columbia College Chicago’s African Heritage Month. Allen dined with a group of students before she arrived to a packed hall at the Ludington Building, 1104 S. Wabash. A video montage described Allen as a renaissance woman in the entertainment industry for her multifaceted career as a dancer, choreographer, producer and actor. The video was followed by a solo dance performance by Columbia College student BreAnne Ashley, 20, to Sade’s “Jezebel.” Vice President of Institutional Advancement Eric Winston introduced Allen to a standing ovation.
Allen gave a candid motivational speech about the importance of looking inward to self and outward into the world to discover the artistic voice. “You have to know what’s happening in the world, because what is your art, your journalism, your photography, what is it going to be about? Who are you, when you look in the mirror? Who is looking back?” asked Allen. In January Allen turned 60, a personal milestone she shared with the audience. She described the racial divide in the U.S. during her youth and her family’s move to Mexico City when she was 9 years old—an experience she says greatly influenced her and gave her a positive perception of herself. “As a young child I was perceived as someone who was not able to master the fine arts, [that] this was not part of my DNA. Well that was their opinion, that wasn’t mine or my mother’s,” explained Allen.
Allen said she was shocked in 2004 when she discovered that her sister, actress Phylicia Rashad, was the first African-American actress to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Lead Actress when she achieved the feat that year. In 1997 Allen became the first African American to produce a major motion picture by backing the film Amistad, a project she owned the rights to for over ten years.
Allen isn’t slowing down, having recently choreographed Mariah Carey’s world tour. Also, she is set to direct an episode of TV’s Grey’s Anatomy.
The Ellen Stone Belic Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media and the office of Multicultural Affairs at Columbia College Chicago sponsored Allen’s talk. To view a listing of future events for African Heritage Month, visit www.colum.edu.