Karole Armitage

American dancer and choreographer (born 1954) Karole ArmitageBorn (1954-03-03) March 3, 1954 (age 72)Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.OccupationsDancer, choreographer Karole Armitage (born March 3, 1954) is an American dancer and choreographer based in New York City. She is artistic director of Armitage Gone! Dance, a contemporary dance company that performs in New York City and internationally. Dubbed the “punk ballerina” in the 1980s, she earned a Tony nomination for her choreography of the Broadway musical Hair. Early life and early career Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Armitage grew up dividing her time in two places: Gothic, Colorado, and Lawrence, Kansas. Armitage began studying ballet in Lawrence, Kansas at the age of four with former New York City Ballet dancer Tomi Wortham, followed by classes in Crested Butte, Colorado with Shirley Strabhaur. She continued her studies with Ballet West in Aspen and Salt Lake City, at the School of American Ballet, the Harkness House in New York City, at North Carolina School of the Arts, and with Léonide Massine in London. Armitage began her professional career in 1973 as a member of the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève in Switzerland. The co