Debbie Allen, an award-winning director, producer and choreographer, will be Wake Forest University’s first Maya Angelou Artist-in-Residence Award.
Allen will work with students at the university Nov. 13-14.
Allen, a Kennedy Center honoree, has won six Emmys, a Golden Globe, five NAACP Image Awards and a Drama Desk award. She the first recipient of the Astaire Award for best dancer.
Allen’s production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” in London won an Olivier Award.
Early in her career she played dance instructor Lydia Grant in the movie and TV show “Fame.” She also served as producer and director of the hit 1990s show, “A Different World.”
A graduate of Howard University, Allen holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in theater and classical Greek studies.