*Peel back all of Jasmine Guy’s layers and at her core you will find an artiste.
During our interview, I deciphered Guy meant it when she stated, “I am art” on the spoken word recording of “My Language” (from the album “Medicine” by the Black Academy of Arts and Letters). She has not begun to get the credit she deserves for contributions in music, dance, and theater. We salute Ms. Guy for evolving an eclectic collage of work into a legacy of which we can all be proud.
Guy is most “unsung” as a dancer. Dancing, which she continues to teach, was her first love. Her career as a professional dancer started when she prodigiously arabesqued her way into the renowned Alvin Ailey Dance Theater at 15. At forty something, the divorcee and mother of 12-year-old Imani was still doing cart wheels and splits as Thelma Kelly in the Broadway production of “Chicago.”
Although the multi-hyphenate achieved acclaim in the comedic acting role of Whitley Gilbert (“A Different World”), this Georgia Peach has blazed the small screen in Alex Haley’ s epic mini-series “Queen” and a role in “Stompin’ at the Savoy.” The artist has appeared in over 17 films including, “Dead Like Me: Life After Death.”
One of the most creatively flexible in the business (dancer, actress, writer, choreographer and director), Guy always believed she could do it all, emulating her mentor-turned-friend Debbie Allen. Hollywood has not always agreed.
After over 20 years of performing on stage and in film she decided to pour all of her gifts into a reservoir of talent called the True Colors Theatre in Atlanta where she serves as a director.
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article courtesy of Eurweb.com
Jasmine Guy: Speaking The Language Of Art was originally published on praisecleveland.com
