Remembering Delores Browne

by Norma Porter
Special thanks to Jill WIlliams from Clark Center NYC!

The past few years we have seen some of Black dance’s biggest leaders transition:

1. Arthur Mitchell

2. Louis Johnson

3. Raven Wilkinson

4. Melvin Deal

5. Dr. Kariamu Welsh

To hear that Ms. Delores Browne transitioned earlier this month left me a bit paralyzed. I felt the same sinking feeling I felt when I learned of the passing of my dear friend and mentor Dr. Kariamu Welsh. Selfishly, I have felt it necessary to relish in the wisdom of dance elders like Browne and Welsh. 

I’ll never forget the day I met Ms. Delores Browne. It must’ve been circa 2012 at the International Association of Blacks in Dance in Washington, DC, or the next year at Philadanco! The date is sketchy in my memory, but I remember being toe-to-toe and eye-to-eye with THE DELORES BROWNE and all her glory. 

In my early Philly days, Joan Myers Brown would call me and tell me when someone I needed to meet to make the magazine a reality would be at or on their way to Philadanco! I would get dressed and travel to Philadanco! in my blue PT Cruiser that kept breaking down to - praying it would get me from my Northeast Philadelphia apartment to Philadanco! and back home.

During one of my visits, I got a chance to spend a some time with Ms. Browne while she was in town to teach Philadanco!’s Ballet class.

Being a short dancer is something Ms. Delores Browne and I had in common. She reassured me I was on the right path with Black Dance Magazine. I was so pleased to see someone of my stature command the level of respect Delores Browne did whenever she entered a studio, a festival, etc…really whenever she entered a new space.

Her regal demeanor and no-nonsense attitude quickly set the tone for our interactions. 

What frustrated me most is that I never learned about Delores Browne, specifically, as a young person training at the prestigious Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Many of my teachers knew who she was, but there was nothing in the most important book on Black dance I was required to read- Black Dance” From 1619 to Today - about the Delores Browne.

While her story may have angered me, it was still a story that needed to be told to a young dancer like myself.

Everyone should know the amazing tenacity, strength and sheer willpower it took to wake up everyone morning to a world who says that you’re inadequate based on the color of your skin and body type, and keep pushing forward.

Ms. Browne tirelessly dedicated her life’s work to supporting Black dancers, and teaching them just how to burst through the glass ceiling unscathed and ready to be at the bar in first position on time and looking impeccable.

From her days performing with the New York Negro Ballet to the work she did helping to form Ailey II to the weekly Ballet classes Ms. Browne taught in her hometown of Philadelphia, Ms. Browne was a powerful house! She still is a powerhouse.

We need to celebrate our elders, learn from them, and acknowledge them as our ancestors - still working on our behalf in the spirit realm - when they transition.

I want to say thank you to Ms. Delores Browne! Job well done!