Fort, Syvilla (1917-1975)
Dates
- Existence: 1917-1975
Biography
Syvilla Fort was a celebrated and pioneering black dancer and choreographer. She was born on July 3, 1917 in Seattle. She attended the city's Cornish School of the Arts. While there, John Cage wrote a piano composition for her. During the 1930s and 1940s, Fort was a professional dancer, working with Katherine Dunham's troupe. In 1948, three years after injuring her knee, Fort was named dance teacher and chief administrator at the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York. From 1948 until the school's closure in 1954, Fort taught eager students at the school. Fort and her husband, Buddy Philips, decided to remain in New York, opening their own dance studio West 44th Street. During this time, she perfected her Afro-Modern technique. In addition to running her own company, from 1954 to 1967, Fort worked as a professor of Physical Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College. Students like Jane Fonda, James Earl Jones, Marlon Brando, and James Dean demonstrate how popular and successful Fort's studio was. Unfortunately, in 1975, Fort was diagnosed with breast cancer, and later that year, she passed away.