Glory Van Scott (born June 1, 1947) is an educator, writer, actress and dancer. She is a former principal dancer with the

Katherine Dunham Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for ...

, Agnes de Mille and

Talley Beatty Talley Beatty (22 December 1918 – 29 April 1995) was born in Cedar Grove, Louisiana, a section of Shreveport, but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. He is considered one of the greatest of African American choreographers, and also bears the titles dan ...

dance companies and has performed in the United States and around the world.

Early life and education

Van Scott was born on June 1, 1947, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois, the daughter of Dr. and Ms. Thomas Van Scott, and was raised near

Greenwood, Mississippi Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta region, approximately 96 miles north of the state capital, Jackson, and 130 miles south of the riverp ...

. She is of African American, Choctaw, and Seminole ancestry. Van Scott was a student at Oakland Elementary School, Dunbar Vocational High School, and graduated from Ethical Culture High School in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. She studied art, dance, and drama classes at The Abraham Lincoln Center, in Chicago, where she met Paul Robeson and Charity Bailey. Van Scott spent summers in Ethical Culture Camp in New York. She received a BA and MA from

Goddard College Goddard College is a progressive education private liberal arts low-residency college with three locations in the United States: Plainfield, Vermont; Port Townsend, Washington; and Seattle, Washington. The college offers undergraduate and gra ...

and a PhD from

Union Graduate School Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...

, previously known as Antioch College Union Graduate School.

Career

Van Scott was mentored in theatre by Vinnette Justine Carroll. She modelled for

Wilhelmina Models Wilhelmina International Inc. (NASDAQ: WHLM), formerly Wilhelmina Models, is a full service modeling and talent agency headquartered in New York City, United States. The company also has offices in Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. Founded in 196 ...

and was a principal dancer for the

, Agnes de Mille, and

dance companies, and joined the American Ballet Theatre. She appeared in the following

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

productions: * '' House of Flowers'' (1954) * ''

Kwamina ''Kwamina'' is a musical with the libretto by Robert Alan Aurthur and music and lyrics by Richard Adler. Production The musical opened in out of town tryouts in Toronto, where, as noted by Ken Mandelbaum "The reviews were promising",Mandelbaum, ...

'' (1961) * ''

The Great White Hope ''The Great White Hope'' is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in October 1 ...

'' (1968) * '' Billy Noname'' (1970) In 1978, she appeared on film in the featured role of the Rolls-Royce Lady in ''

The Wiz ''The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz"'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls (and others) and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's children's novel '' The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' ...

'' and the 2003 film ''Rhythms of the Saints''. As a playwright and author, Van Scott has written and composed nine musicals including ''Miss Truth'', and books such as ''Baba and the Flea'' (1972), and ''Glory: A Life Among Legends'' (2018).

Educator

She taught theater at the Pennsylvania Governor's School for the Arts and Theater as Social Change at Fordham University.

Legacy

Elizabeth Catlett Elizabeth Catlett, born as Alice Elizabeth Catlett, also known as Elizabeth Catlett Mora (April 15, 1915 – April 2, 2012) was an African American sculptor and graphic artist best known for her depictions of the Black-American experience in the ...

created a bronze bust depicting Van Scott in 1981. In 2002, Van Scott received the

Legacy Award.

Personal

Van Scott's cousin Emmett Till was murdered in 1955.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Scott, Glory 1947 births 20th-century American actresses African-American actresses American ballerinas American stage actresses Dancers from Illinois Dunbar Vocational High School alumni Goddard College alumni Living people Union Institute & University alumni 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women