Lauren Anderson (born February 19, 1965)[1] is an American ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Houston Ballet. In 1990, she was the first African American ballerina to become a principal for a major dance company, an important milestone in American ballet.
Lauren is the only child of Lawrence Anderson, a school administrator, and Doris Parker-Morales, a classical piano teacher.[3] From the age of seven she trained at Houston Ballet’s Ben Stevenson Academy.[4] She is a Houston native and graduated from Lamar High School in 1982.
Anderson joined the Houston Ballet in 1983 and became a principal dancer in 1990.
Her performance of the title role in Cleopatra gave her international recognition. She has also performed works by George Balanchine and Sir Kenneth MacMillan, among others. Ms. Anderson originated the role of Cleopatra in the ballet of the same name created by Ben Stevenson, and her performance received reviews; the Boston Globe called Ms. Anderson “a powerhouse in interpreting the role that Stevenson created on her.”
Now this is what you call LADYLIKE dancing.
A beautiful dancer and honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc.,Lauren was exquisite to watch in the HB School while I became the 1st African American to dance with the Houston Ballet. She later danced as an apprentice to the company in the Nutcracker, but not as my daughter as you might think. Ben Stevenson had a way of using his dancers in the best light. Honored to have a continued lasting friendship with her. She wrote on my program” You were the Alpha and the Omega is yet to be born” Congratulations on this honor and continued success.
Wow! Adrian Vincent James, thank you for dropping by our site. We are most honored.
Hi Adrian. Your sharing a bit of dance history is most appreciated.
Lauren Anderson is exquisite! Thank you for this Black history series, SG2. and she’s a fellow Texan too. :-)
Yes, she’s a Texas girl.