Sandra Fortune-Green (born March 2, 1951) is a ballet teacher and former ballet dancer. Fortune-Green, who is African-American, was professor of dance at

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

for 15 years and is now owner and artistic director of the Legacy of the Jones-Haywood School, the integrated ballet school where she learned to dance as a child in the 1960s.

Biography

Fortune was born March 2, 1951, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, to Raymond and Elizabeth Fortune. At 10, she enrolled at the

Jones-Haywood School of Ballet The Jones-Haywood School of Ballet, now known as The Jones-Haywood Dance School, was founded in 1941 by Doris W. Jones and Claire Haywood in Washington D.C. to teach young dancers of color classical ballet. Its students have gone on to dance with ...

, a ballet school founded in 1941 by Doris W. Jones and

Claire Haywood Claire Helen Haywood (1916 – September 23, ) was an American ballet dancer and teacher, called a “grand dame of Black dance in Washington”. With Doris W. Jones, she cofounded the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet in 1941 to give African Ameri ...

to be an integrated school to train African American students refused at white ballet schools. Fortune graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School in 1968 and continued dance studies in New York at the

School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the most renowned ballet school in the United States. School of American Ballet is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New ...

, the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

, and the

Joffrey Ballet The Joffrey Ballet is one of the premier dance companies and training institutions in the world today. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the Joffrey regularly performs classical and contemporary ballets during its annual performance season at Lyric O ...

. Eventually she returned to Washington, D.C., and enrolled in Howard University, studying elementary education. In 1972, she left Howard to pursue her dance career internationally, and in 1973, was the only American to compete in the Second International Ballet Competition in Moscow, finishing 26th out of 125. Her partner was Clover Mathis of the Alvin Ailey Troupe, though he was not competing. Betty Ford Sandra Fortune-Green Sylvester Campbell at the White House 1976

Betty Ford Sandra Fortune-Green Sylvester Campbell at the White House 1976

She married Joseph Green on New Year's Eve, 1975. In 1976 she was viewed as the top United States competitor at the

Varna International Ballet Competition The Varna International Ballet Competition is a biennial ballet competition held in Varna, Bulgaria. The competition was founded in 1964 and subsequently held in 1965 and 1966, and then every two years starting in 1968. Many dancers have gained the ...

, and was invited to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

by First Lady

Betty Ford Elizabeth Anne Ford (; formerly Warren; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a pol ...

to convey Ford's well-wishes in the competition. Fortune-Green received an honorable mention at Varna. Fortune-Green continued dancing with the Capitol Ballet, the company that served as the performing arm of the Jones-Haywood School, which became fully professionalized in 1979. She was awarded a Washington, D.C. Mayor's Arts Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline from Mayor

Marion Barry Marion Shepilov Barry (born Marion Barry Jr.; March 6, 1936 – November 23, 2014) was an American politician who served as the second and fourth mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991 and 1995 to 1999. A Democrat, Barry had served ...

in 1987. In 1994, she joined the faculty at Howard University's dance department, where she taught ballet technique classes for 15 years. Fortune-Green has also served on the dance faculty at the

Duke Ellington School of the Arts The Duke Ellington School of the Arts (established 1974) is a high school located at 35th Street and R Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School syste ...

for more than thirty years. In 2007, Fortune-Green became the owner of the Jones-Haywood School of Dance.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fortune-Green, Sandra 1951 births Howard University alumni American ballerinas American ballet teachers Living people 21st-century American educators 21st-century American women educators