Dyann Robinson
Dyann Robinson (1942- ) is a dancer, choreographer, playwright, and educator whose creative and civic leadership has made a lasting impact on the cultural life of her birthplace, Tuskegee, Macon County. A classically trained dancer with an international performing career, Robinson has taught dance for universities and professional dance companies including Howard University, Dance Theatre of Boston, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Auburn University. Robinson was an assistant choreographer and member of the original Broadway cast of Bubbling Brown Sugar, and is the founder and longtime artistic director of the Tuskegee Repertory Theatre, Inc.
Robinson was born on June 22, 1942, to G. Clinton Robinson and Jessie P. Robinson; she was one of two siblings. She attended St. Joseph Catholic School in her youth. Robinson was inspired to pursue dance after watching actress Margaret O’Brien perform on television. She began formal training in the second grade under a White nun of the Dominican religious order who worked at St. Joseph’s and offered private lessons in the spare room of a funeral home. Robinson made her stage debut with the Gibsonian Dance Troupe, led by local dance teacher Jessie Gibson. The troupe toured historically Black schools across Alabama and Georgia. During her teen years, Robinson taught classes with her sister, Clintonia, in the basement of their family home. She graduated from Tuskegee Institute High School.
Robinson earned a bachelor of arts degree in dance from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was the first Black student to graduate from the school’s dance program. She then received a master of fine arts in drama from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Robinson then built an impressive résumé as a professional performer across the United States and abroad. In Washington, she co-founded The Chamber Dance Group, led the dance program at Howard University, and partnered with choreographer Mike Malone to tour nationally as The Concert Ballet Duo. In Boston, she danced with the National Center of Afro-American Artists’ Dance Company and worked with choreographer Billy Wilson for the Dance Theatre of Harlem. In a groundbreaking achievement, Robinson became the first African American woman to join Maurice Béjart’s Ballet of the 20th Century, an internationally acclaimed company based in Brussels, Belgium. The ballet and contemporary dance company was known for incorporating South and East Asian elements in its performances and served as the official dance company for The National Opera of Belgium.
After returning to the United States, Robinson assisted Billy Wilson in choreographing the Tony-nominated musical Bubbling Brown Sugar (1976) and performed in its original Broadway cast. The play explores the cultural legacy of the Harlem Renaissance and features original music as well as music from prominent jazz artists of that era, including Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway.
In 1980, Robinson returned to Tuskegee and was appointed director of the Department of Cultural Affairs by Johnny Ford, the city’s first Black mayor. She founded and directed the Tuskegee City Dance Theatre—the city’s first professional dance company—which was based in the former Whites-only Tuskegee Country Club. Many of the company’s dancers would later form the ensemble of Robinson’s local production of Bubbling Brown Sugar, which was staged in Tuskegee and at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in 1988 and 1989.
Following the dissolution of the Department of Cultural Affairs in 1989, Robinson joined the faculty of Auburn University, where she served as an associate professor of theatre and dance for 13 years. During her tenure, she created six full-length dance-dramas and served as the theatre department’s first scholar-in-residence. Her capstone project in that role, Strange Fruit: The Story of an Alabama Lynching, received critical acclaim for its bold engagement with racial violence and historical memory.
In 1991, Robinson realized a lifelong dream by founding the Tuskegee Repertory Theatre, Inc., a professional company dedicated to preserving and celebrating Tuskegee’s history through performance. In 1996, she purchased the former downtown Tuskegee post office to serve as the theatre’s home. The building, named the Jessie Clinton Arts Centre in honor of her parents, remains the city’s only full-fledged theatre space. With the exception of Purlie by Ossie Davis, the company exclusively stages original works by Robinson. These include Run Johnny Run, a dramatized biography of Johnny Ford, and Revolt in Storyland, a musical adaptation of Marie Moore Lyle’s children’s play.
Robinson frequently has been recognized for her contributions to the arts and community. In 1994, the University of Alabama’s Center for Public Television released a documentary about her life and work titled Dance of Identity: Dyann Robinson, part of the Alabama Experience series. She has received the Alabama Shakespeare Festival’s Pioneer Award (1996) and the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) Governor’s Arts Award (2001). In 2002, she was appointed as a member of ASCA, where she served for six years; she also received ASCA’s Playwright Fellowship.
Robinson’s contributions extend beyond the arts to community leadership roles. She previously served as president of the Tuskegee Historic Preservation Commission, and she currently serves as secretary for the World Conference of Mayors.
