Dancer. A respected performer, choreographer, and teacher, she shall probably be remembered for her popular one-woman shows. Born Beverly Carol Schmidt, she was raised in Chicago and later in the suburbs, took to dance early, earned a degree from Roosevelt University, and in 1953 moved to New York City where she joined the Nikolais Dance Theater, an esteemed modern ensemble. Beverly received a graduate degree from Sara Lawrence College and in 1957 was awarded a Fulbright scholarship which enabled her to spend a year in Germany studying with Mary Wigman, a time she used to sneak into East Berlin to observe the Bertolt Brecht Theater. Beverly remained with the Nikolais troop until 1963, started choreographing, then in 1967 returned home where she held a professorship at the University of Illinois from 1967 until taking Emerita status in 1990. Beginning in the 1980s, she made her mark in a succession of part tragic, part comic one-woman productions, her red hair set-off by outlandish black costumes as she danced to music ranging from Bach to the popular tune "The Way We Were", her more notable efforts including her 1983 tribute to her father entitled "Dad's Ties", 1987's "Besame Mucho" in which she depicted both the male and female halves of a couple, and her 1993 memorial for Alwin Nikolais, "Shards". She returned to New York in 1990 where she spent the next decade choreographing and dancing as well as participating in a 2000 documentary about her ex-husband, actor Roberts Blossom, before a final location to the Windy City in 2001. The recipient of multiple honors, she was bestowed the Bessie Award in 1993 and the Martha Hill Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, last appeared on stage at Hunter College's 2010 centennial tribute to Nikolais, lived out her days in Chicago, and died of cancer.
Dancer. A respected performer, choreographer, and teacher, she shall probably be remembered for her popular one-woman shows. Born Beverly Carol Schmidt, she was raised in Chicago and later in the suburbs, took to dance early, earned a degree from Roosevelt University, and in 1953 moved to New York City where she joined the Nikolais Dance Theater, an esteemed modern ensemble. Beverly received a graduate degree from Sara Lawrence College and in 1957 was awarded a Fulbright scholarship which enabled her to spend a year in Germany studying with Mary Wigman, a time she used to sneak into East Berlin to observe the Bertolt Brecht Theater. Beverly remained with the Nikolais troop until 1963, started choreographing, then in 1967 returned home where she held a professorship at the University of Illinois from 1967 until taking Emerita status in 1990. Beginning in the 1980s, she made her mark in a succession of part tragic, part comic one-woman productions, her red hair set-off by outlandish black costumes as she danced to music ranging from Bach to the popular tune "The Way We Were", her more notable efforts including her 1983 tribute to her father entitled "Dad's Ties", 1987's "Besame Mucho" in which she depicted both the male and female halves of a couple, and her 1993 memorial for Alwin Nikolais, "Shards". She returned to New York in 1990 where she spent the next decade choreographing and dancing as well as participating in a 2000 documentary about her ex-husband, actor Roberts Blossom, before a final location to the Windy City in 2001. The recipient of multiple honors, she was bestowed the Bessie Award in 1993 and the Martha Hill Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009, last appeared on stage at Hunter College's 2010 centennial tribute to Nikolais, lived out her days in Chicago, and died of cancer.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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