Biography

Debrah Kaye Allen, or as most know her Debbie Allen, is a woman of many talents. Born in Houston, Texas on January 16, 1950, Allen grew up dancing at the age of 3 years old and 2 years later she knew to wanted to perform professionally. Allen went on to audition at the Houston ballet school at the age of 12 years old, just to be rejected because of her skin color. Luckily, there was an instructor who saw her performing and decided to sneak Allen into the program. After a whole, Allen got caught for being in the dance program after she had been rejected, but she was such a great dancer they let her stay. Even though they let her stay Allen still faced racism and criticism because of her skin color. Allen also faced harsh critiques because of her body type and how it was “unsuited” for a dancer.