Words by Andy Brophy
Photos by Dariusz Terepka Photography
The Westport Library Wednesday night celebrated the multi-faceted career and life of Debbie Allen, honoree of the library’s 27th annual BOOKED for the evening, its biggest annual fundraiser.
“She’s an icon of American arts and culture. We’re really fortunate to have her,” William Harmer, the library’s executive director, said during a meet-and-greet before Allen spoke with Shonda Rhimes, the 2022 BOOKED honoree, on the stage of the Trefz Forum.
More than 600 people came to Wednesday’s event and the library, which has to cover 25 percent of its annual budget through donations, expected to raise $400,000 to $500,000 from its BOOKED fundraiser. Harmer said the library this fiscal year has to raise $1.5 million.
Robert Boroujerdi, president of the library’s board of trustees, said the Westport Library was a place where people discover, learn, imagine and connect through, among other things, workshops, author talks, lectures, teen programming, civic engagement and community involvement.
Boroujerdi thanked sponsors and attendees of this year’s BOOKED, as well as the library’s staff and its Book Sale Committee.
BOOKED honorees are chosen based on their reflection of The Westport Library’s mission and vision, which is to nurture a love of learning and enhance our understanding of the world, according to the library’s website.
Allen’s award-winning career, which has spanned more than 50 years, has included dancing, choreography, acting, directing, producing and teaching.
Her husband, Norman Nixon, a former NBA point guard who won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, said in a video tribute to Allen, “You instill in all of us that we should never stop developing ourselves.”
Allen’s career started as a dancer when she was growing up in Houston, Texas, but she was denied entry into dance schools as a child because she’s Black and America was segregated at the time.
In response to questions from Rhimes, Allen said she was “always the one who was dancing in the family,” and she recalled watching a dance class taught by Patsy Swayze, Patrick Swayze’s mother. She said Patsy invited her to bring her dance shoes and join the class the following day.
“It was a real big beginning for me,” Allen said.
But Allen said her big break came when she was asked to portray the dance teacher on Fame, which had transitioned from a movie into a TV series. She also served as a choreographer on Fame.
By that time, Allen had already starred in the Broadway revival of West Side Story for which she was nominated for a Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award.
Allen would later win six Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, NAACP Image Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award and an Astaire Award, and she also received Kennedy Center Honors and an honorary Oscar for lifelong contributions to dance, storytelling and the arts.
Allen said her multi-faceted career was “a natural progression,” especially from dancing to choreography. She said she became proficient in different careers because, “The dance world demands you train.”
“Coming out of the dance world, I had the ethic of hard work,” she said.
Allen said she learned how to handle rejection and develop resilience because as a child she was denied entry at dance schools. “It made me understand the world is tough and not everyone is going to love you,” she said.
Allen said her motivation to give back came from her experiences as a child and people like Patsy Swayze and Bob Fosse, a renowned choreographer, dancer and director who helped her. And she said, after extending her hand palm up, “If people have a hand like this, God will give it back to you.”
Her advice to young people interested in the arts was to find a place where they can train and master one craft. “Keep going and keep asking – aggressively but politely – ‘Can I come and be a PA (production assistant) in your company?’ “
Rhimes then asked Allen, 76, what advice she had for middle-aged people, and Allen said change was the nature of the universe, and the universe is who we are. “Trying something different and something new should be the norm and not the fear,” she said. “It will keep you more alive – being active and able to change.”
Rhimes asked what Allen wished she had known growing up, and Allen said she wished people had more respect and understanding of who her mother was.
Her mother, Vivian Allen, was a poet, artist and concert classical pianist, Allen said. “She demanded we be literate and see something beyond ourselves and our neighborhoods,” she said.
Stacy Bass, co-chair of “BOOKED” along with Wendy Brown, started the fundraiser 27 years ago and said attendance had increased 20-fold since its inception. She said she believes attendees always learn something new at the event.
Bass said she grew up in Westport, and The Westport Library was part of her family life. “It’s a crown jewel of this town. To be associated with it is really an honor. That’s what keeps me coming back,” she said.
Harmer said the library has been “incredibly blessed.”
“It’s really difficult for fundraising events to be successful. For 27 years, this community has come out to support this event,” he said.
Revenue from “BOOKED” enables the library to expand programming and serve underprivileged communities, said Krishna Patel, vice president of the library’s board of trustees.
“Eight hundred students a day come through the library and it’s open early morning to pretty late,” she said. “To me, it’s both the community and cultural center for Westport, and we’re really proud to have a place where kids come and feel like they really want to be here and hang out.”
Andy Brophy
Andy Brophy is an experienced Fairfield County journalist. Andy was a staff writer at The Connecticut Post for 10 years. He also wrote for the Norwalk Hour, Fairfield Minuteman, Fairfield Patch and weekly newspapers in Westport, Fairfield and Norwalk. When not reporting, Andy enjoys playing chess and listening to pianist Art Tatum. .
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