Barbara Craddock (May 18, 1940January 20, 2015) was an American professional

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

r and

choreographer Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

specializing in

Latin dance Latin dance is a general label, and a term in partner dance competition jargon. It refers to types of ballroom dance and folk dance that mainly originated in Latin America. The category of Latin dances in the international dancesport competi ...

and an internationally accredited dance competition judge. She was the dance partner and manager of Pedro "Cuban Pete" Aguilar for 11 years until her death in 2009.

Biography

Craddock was born Barbara Miller in New York on May 18, 1940. She began dancing at the age of five and became a professional ballroom dancer at the age of 15. She later went on to earn a degree in

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. An interior designer is someone who plans, researches, coordina ...

from the

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. In the 1960s-70s, she performed in New York and New Jersey with Kiko Fernandez. In the 1980s, she went on to South Florida, where she performed a two-woman revue, ''Invitation to the Dance'' with Marilyn DeLee and Olga Suarez. She also taught workshops and lectured on the history of Latin dance as well as judged dance competitions. Craddock had met Aguilar multiple times at international dance events since the 1950s, though they did not officially become a team until 1998. Craddock and Cuban Pete were inducted in the

International Latin Music Hall of Fame The International Latin Music Hall of Fame (ILMHF) was an annual event established in 1999 and held in New York City to honor artists who have largely contributed to the Latin music (genre), Latin music genre. In addition to the induction into th ...

and were the first Latin dancers to be awarded the Latin Jazz USA Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2007-2008 Ms. Latina International Pageant. In 2003 they were also given lifetime achievement awards from the Norwegian government and Norwegian Dance Association for their contributions to Latin dance. Barbara Craddock died on January 20, 2015, in

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. She is buried in

Beth David Cemetery Beth David Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located at 300 Elmont Road in Elmont, New York. The cemetery was established in 1917. As of 2012, there were approximately 245,000 burials in the cemetery. Notable interments *Sam Ash (1897–1956), violini ...

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the ...

References

1940 births 2015 deaths Entertainers from the Bronx American female dancers Burials at Beth David Cemetery 21st-century American women {{dance-bio-stub