Kazuo Ohno
1906-2010
Internationally influential Japanese dancer who founded the butoh movement and continued to perform after his 100th birthday.
It would be remarkable enough for an artist in any field to remain active into his second century, but the physical demands of dance made Kazuo Ohno’s achievement all the more astonishing. Having first performed publicly at the relatively advanced age of 43, he became, in his fifties, one of the founders of butoh, an important movement in modern Japanese dance, and went on to win international fame in old age.
So happy that I got to know her, Denise Jefferson was an American dance educator who served as the director of the Ailey School of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from 1984 until her death.
Affectionately referred to as Ms. J — she was instrumental in identifying a child's potential, and mentoring myriad students as they began their journey to becoming some of the greatest dance artists in the world. “Powerful,” “technical,” “elegant,” “consistent,” “beautiful,” “fierce,” “a force of nature”— these are some of the adjectives most commonly used to describe Ailey students. They are also the words that best describe Denise Jefferson.
Wow -- Ohno never danced publicly until he was 43?! He's proof that one is never too old to pursue one's dream. Thanks.
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