A Celebration of Geoffrey Holder’s Life & Legacy

Written by Alexandra Siclait for Lonnie G. Bunch at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture

“I create for that innocent little boy in the balcony who has come to the theatre for the first time,” Geoffrey Holder told Dance magazine in 2010. “He wants to see magic, so I want to give him magic. He sees things that his father couldn’t see.”  

When I think of Geoffrey Holder, a Trini dancer, choreographer, actor, composer, designer, sculptor, and painter, I cannot help but think how this native of Trinidad and Tobago created magic in the African American experience. But unfortunately, this past Sunday, we lost Geoffrey to complications from pneumonia. He was 84. 

New York was poised to mark his passing by dimming the lights on Broadway for one minute. By anyone’s standards, he had a full life and commanded attention on any stage he owned. There was no missing him. He did not just master different mediums; he refined them, infusing them with his broad range of West Indian enchantment. And as a Renaissance man involved in all facets of artistic production, he loved to share that enchantment onstage with none other than his wife of 59 years, Carmen De Lavallade. Together, they made a statement to capture cultural traditions and produce a multi-sensory experience.

A versatile man, indeed, in the course of his life, he acted on stage and in films. He directed a dance troupe from his native island on Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera. He choreographed for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In 1975, he won Tony Awards for directing action and designing the costumes for the Broadway sensation, “The Wiz,” an all-black version of “The Wizard of Oz” starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

I recall spending several days with Mr. Holder, him walking me through his fantastic home that was rich with history and culture. We spent hours examining his creativity. Later, he donated costumes from “The Wiz” to this museum. We are proud to be able to share them as a critical part of our Black Fashion Museum collection. Several of his costumes will be on view in the museum’s inaugural exhibition exploring contemporary artists whose work transformed the representation of African American culture in the theater.

We are grateful his career was recognized during his lifetime and even more thankful for his contributions to the African American cultural tapestry. Who can forget the characters Baron Samedi in “Live and Let Die,” Punjab in “Annie,” or the voice of Ray in “Bear in the Big Blue House?” As a multi-faceted artist where Caribbean folklore often guided his work and talents, he activated my consciousness with his dance classics – “ Prodigal Prince” (1971), “Dougla” (1974), and “Timbuktu!” (1978).

Geoffrey Holder’s work embodied his inherent multilayered identity. He knew how to grab disparate elements and bring them together. He knew the importance of creativity and individuality. He knew how to manifest all aspects of our African diaspora identity for the world. “He was at the heart of the African diaspora traditions,” says Dwandalyn R. Reece, music and performing arts curator for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). His story became our story. His multicultural journey became this nation’s journey.”

I will never forget the enormity of his talent and the generosity of his spirit. With his hearty laugh and that heavily accented, lower-than-low bass voice, we will always hear him saying, “absolutely marvelous.” And marvelous he was.

Thinking Beyond the Boundaries of Labels

Written by Alexandra Siclait for the Janklow Arts Leadership Program at Syracuse University

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — There is no denying it. He is evocative, engaging, and delightfully charming. But perhaps most captivating is his infectious smile that is so disarming. Talk to him for five minutes or talk to him for an hour; regardless, Mark Nerenhausen will leave a considerable impression on the most cynical. Few leaders can truly match Mark's achievements. His accomplishments are not in scholarly publications like Congress Considered or the Journal of Conflict Resolution. However, the underpinning drives of his life's accomplishments are all around us: art and culture. 

Mark has made impressive strides in performing arts, coalition building, cultural leadership, and cross-cultural exchanges. Having enjoyed success in his career, it is sometimes hard to believe that Mark did not always consider art a profession. "I thought a career in the arts meant you were a performer. It wasn't until I got to college that I set foot in a real theatre. I never even thought people had careers doing that," he said. If all of this makes him sound intimidating, it should not. Mark has a passion for creativity, and with that passion comes his story. Where most executives of his credentials exude an egocentric attitude, Mark's demeanor is much more humble than pompous, laid back in a button-up shirt, pants, and glasses.

He acknowledges his accomplishments but aspires to achieve so much more. He has had a genuine interest in the arts, economic development, and cultural diplomacy. Raised in a small community in Washington Island, Wis., Mark cannot recall his life without art. "Art was something that was all around me," he said. Mark earned a master's degree in Arts Administration from the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Business in Madison, Wis, and will be the first to say he got involved in art for more of the social side than the art side. "I never looked at [art] as a burning desire to present art but rather had a platform to bring people together, and art was a critical vehicle in that," he said. 

Mark developed a nonconformist relationship with art during his childhood and later adulthood. As anyone will hear him say, there is art with a capital "A" and a lowercase "a." And as he and a former colleague see it, art with a lowercase "a" is that essential component of culture, which lends itself among us, absent of the symphony and orchestra seasons or the art we study on walls made by the heroic artists. Simply put, art is all around us, and we always participate in art. "It [is not] this idea that art is somehow separate and apart from us. So art with the small "a" is the idea that art is one of those things that define us, and you don't have to go to the art museum. We live it and breathe it. It's getting people to recognize that it's a continuum, not an either-or situation," he said. 

Coupled with his relationship with art is Mark's command of wide-ranging nuances in cultural planning to connect community and commerce, corporations, government, private developers, cultural organizations, and public agencies. Few do it well, and even fewer elevate the arts for public benefit in economic development, cultural tourism, real estate development, and education. Mark excels at it. As president and CEO of AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, he helped raise more than $4 million.

Under his leadership, Broward Center for Performing Arts gained a more prominent cultural presence as one of the top venues in the world, according to trade publication surveys. Additionally, he has received countless awards. With such a tremendous professional breadth, one cannot avoid asking the pivotal question: If art matters, why does it not receive more support? He recognizes his peers' shortfalls. "Arts administrators do a poor job connecting art to people's values," he said. But when Mark sees a weakness, he strives to think beyond the set boundaries and labels to meet the challenges and ultimately find a solution. "The challenge is to create a different perspective among arts organizations, being able to define the appropriate metrics and create the mechanism where the diplomatic interests can effectively work with the arts," he said.  

Perhaps joining the faculty of the Syracuse University (SU) Arts Leadership Graduate Program (ALP) is Mark's silent mission to train and mentor the next art leaders to break those boundaries and labels. Early this year, SU announced the launch of ALP. Mark joined ALP as the founding director and professor of practice. This past fall, the inaugural class began its first series of interdisciplinary courses. Mark is not the only one who is excited about joining SU.

In talking about him as a professor, SU student Caitlin Moriarty described him as "exuberant, innovative, and entrepreneurial. He always seems to have a great perspective and makes you think differently. He has influenced me to think deeper and differently about what the arts mean to the world." 

Just mention ALP for a second, and one will begin to hear the excitement in Mark's voice. Then, ask him what makes ALP different from an Arts Management program, and he will tell you. "When discussing scholarship in action, we don't live in isolation. We have the obligation and the opportunity to engage our community. I'm coming at it from the perspective of leadership versus management. It's about vision and looking at the big picture, not just being the one who dots the i's and crosses the t's. The arts can be in the larger community's vision. It draws on the strengths of Newhouse, Whitman, and Maxwell to give the students a broad perspective of what arts leadership is all about," he said.