Arthur Christian Holder (born 18 June 1949)
, ''Trinidad Express Newspapers'', 31 July 2011. is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

artist who has worked in many fields – like his father

Boscoe Holder Boscoe Holder (16 July 1921 – 21 April 2007), born Arthur Aldwyn Holder in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago, was Trinidad and Tobago's leading contemporary painter, who also had a celebrated international career spanning six decades as a designer and ...

: as a dancer, choreographer, actor, teacher, costume designer, writer, painter and singer. He is most notable as "one of the most iconic dancers of the Joffrey company in the 1970s, perhaps in its history."Sheri Candler, "Christian Holder reflects on his years in the Joffrey", ''Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance''.

Life and career

Early years and education

Arthur Christian Holder was born in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

into an artistic family, the son of

and his wife Sheila Clarke Holder, who were both professional dancers. (His maternal grandmother was the actress and radio personality Kathleen Davis – known as "Aunty Kay" – and his uncle was the actor

Geoffrey Holder Geoffrey Lamont Holder (August 1, 1930 – October 5, 2014) was a Trinidadian-American actor, dancer, musician, and artist. He was a principal dancer for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet before his film career began in 1957 with an appearance in ' ...

.) The Holders moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

when their son was an infant.Sid Smith
"Recalling the glamor, activist days of the Joffrey"
''Chicago Tribune'', 27 August 2006. Boscoe Holder, who later became a renowned painter, at the time ran a company called Boscoe Holder and his Caribbean Dancers, and throughout childhood Christian appeared with them, and on British television and in repertory theatre.Christian Holder
"Remembering Joffrey"
, ''Dance Magazine'', October 2006. Retrieved 1 June 2015. As a four-year-old Christian danced with his father's company at the

coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The coronation of Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London. She acceded to the throne at the age of 25 upon the death of her father, George VI, on 6 February 1952, being proclaimed queen by her privy and executive ...

in 1953, and by the age of seven he had begun training in ballet, and aged 11 attended the Corona Academy Stage School. In an unfinished 1955 production of ''

Moby Dick ''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whi ...

'', directed by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, Holder had the role of Pip the Cabin Boy.

Move to New York

In 1963 Holder was one of a select group of young dancers to be offered scholarships by Martha Graham to study at her 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 ...

, so as to return to London "to be charter members of what was to become

London Contemporary Dance Theatre The London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT) was a contemporary dance company, based at The Place, founded by Robin Howard with Robert Cohan as its Artistic Director. Founded in 1967, and strongly influenced by the ideas of American modern and pos ...

". The following year his parents saw him off to the US. He went on to enrol as a student at the High School of Performing Arts in

, where he was spotted by

Robert Joffrey Robert Joffrey (December 24, 1930 – March 25, 1988) was an American dancer, teacher, producer, choreographer, and co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet, known for his highly imaginative modern ballets. He was born Anver Bey Abdullah Jaffa Khan in Se ...

. Joining the Joffrey Ballet, Holder remained with the company from 1966 to 1979, becoming one of their most acclaimed principal dancers, performing as a soloist with choreographers including

Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Archi ...

(who personally trained Holder for the lead role of "Death" in a revival of his 1932 anti-war ballet, ''

The Green Table ''The Green Table'' is a ballet by the German choreographer Kurt Jooss. His most popular work, it depicts the futility of peace negotiations of the 1930s. It was the first work to be fully notated using kinetography Laban (Labanotation). It is in ...

''),

Leonid Massine Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide. People with the name include: *Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright a ...

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center ...

, and Agnes De Mille.Suzanne K. Walther
"Notes on contributors"
''The Dance Theatre of Kurt Jooss'', p. 97. ''Choreography and Dance'', Vol. 3, Part 2 (1993). A ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' review in 1971 typically commented: "...Christian Holder, lithe, tremendously powerful and totally individual, dominates the stage whenever he is given solo work to do.... Up the Joffrey! Onward, Christian Holder!" From 1979 to 1981 he appeared as guest solo dancer with

San Francisco Opera San Francisco Opera (SFO) is an American opera company founded in 1923 by Gaetano Merola (1881–1953) based in San Francisco, California. History Gaetano Merola (1923–1953) Merola's road to prominence in the Bay Area began in 1906 when h ...

, dancing in productions starring Luciano Pavarotti, and

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname * José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician * Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director *Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politicia ...

, and choreographed their productions of ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

'' with Dame Joan Sutherland and ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'' (2001). In 2006, he performed in the Joffrey Ballet’s production of Sir Frederick Ashton's ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'', as one of the ugly stepsisters along with Gary Chryst, which roles Joffrey (who died in 1988) had always wanted them to play. The 2012 documentary film ''Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance'', written and directed by Bob Hercules, contains archive footage of Holder.Christian Holder biography
official website. During his career Holder choreographed ballets including ''Weren't We Fools?'' for American Ballet Theatre and ''Transcendence'' for

Atlanta Ballet Atlanta Ballet is a ballet company, located in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the longest continuously performing ballet company in the United States and the State Ballet of Georgia. History Atlanta Ballet was founded in 1929 by Dorothy Alexander as ...

, appeared in repertory theatre productions and musicals, and has designed costumes for ballets including

Margo Sappington Margo Sappington (born July 30, 1947 in Baytown, Texas) is an American choreographer and dancer. She was nominated in 1975 for both a Tony Award as Best Choreographer and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography for her work on the pla ...

's ''Toulouse-Lautrec'' (2000) for the Ballet du Capitole in

Toulouse, France Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. He has also designed costumes for

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

(between 1974 and 1984), Ann Reinking and others."Recalling the glamor, activist days of the Joffrey"
''Chicago Tribune'', 27 August 2006. In addition, Holder has taught ballet at Steps On Broadway in

, the Metropolitan Opera Ballet,

Kaatsbaan International Dance Center Tivoli is a village in Dutchess County, New York, United States. The population is 1,012, according to the 2020 census. The village, which was incorporated in 1872 from parts of Upper Red Hook Landing and Madalin, is the northernmost settlement ...

, PeriDance, and for Cedar Lake Dance.

Return to London and recent years

After decades in the US, Holder returned to live in England, where he has been involved in various creative work. In 2010, his paintings and designs were exhibited in London alongside the work of his father Boscoe Holder and that of master designer

Oliver Messel Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century. Early life Messel was born in London, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel a ...

, a family friend. A recent project is writing the book and lyrics for a theatre piece called ''Verse of Fortune'' (in collaboration with Noa Ain) inspired by the life and work of French poet Baudelaire. In April 2015 Holder made his debut as a singer in his one-man cabaret entitled "At Home and Abroad", with music direction by Philip Foster, playing a sold-out show at The Crazy Coqs in London's Piccadilly, where he performed his own compositions as well as songs by Cole Porter, Noël Coward, Stephen Sondheim, Peter Allen and

Rodgers & Hart Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership between composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and the lyricist Lorenz Hart (1895–1943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart ...

. A subsequent show in May 2016 at the same venue was entitled ''SUITE 60'' and received a four-star review from BritishTheatre.com, where Douglas Mayo commented: "Holder succeeds in weaving a spell over his audience. It’s a blend of live performance and multi-media, that is perfectly placed in the intimacy of a venue like Crazy Coqs....his ability to deliver truth and drama through song enables him to captivate an audience for nearly two hours and leave them wanting more." In August 2016, Holder appeared at the

Victoria & Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

in conversation with Greta Chaffer, in a special event entitled "Christian Holder: A life in performance, New York and London"."Christian Holder: A life in performance, New York and London"
V&A, Special Events, 19 August 2016.

Awards

On 7 April 1991, Christian Holder, Boscoe Holder, and Geoffrey Holder jointly received, in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, the first Drexel University Award for International Excellence. Also, an award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts was given to him by

Philadanco The Philadelphia Dance Company (also known as Philadanco) is a professional dance company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that specializes in contemporary dance. The organization was founded in 1970 by Artistic Director Joan Myers Brown. The ...

in 1995.

References

External links

Official website.

Christian Holder
at IMDb.
"Joffrey Mavericks of American Dance: Exclusive Interviews From The Film Premiere In NYC"
video interview with Christian Holder. YouTube. * Dorothy Kincaid
"Dance, Dress, and Design With Flair" (article on Christian Holder)
''

The Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...

'', 16 February 1977.
"Ballet and race: black or white?"
Londonballetblog, 24 September 2013. With photograph captioned: "Christian Holder takes a jump in Animus (choreographed by

Gerald Arpino Gerald Arpino (January 14, 1923 – October 29, 2008) was an American dancer and choreographer. He was co-founder of the Joffrey Ballet and succeeded Robert Joffrey as its artistic director in 1988. Life and career Born on Staten Island, New Yor ...

), with the Joffrey ballet in 1969". {{DEFAULTSORT:Holder, Christian 1949 births Living people British male dancers British people of Trinidad and Tobago descent British choreographers British costume designers Black British male actors British male singers Trinidad and Tobago dancers Trinidad and Tobago expatriates in the United Kingdom British cabaret performers Ballet choreographers Black British artists Trinidad and Tobago choreographers Trinidad and Tobago artists