Karel Shook, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

Karel Shook

1920-1985 , ballet teacher and company director

Date of Birth: 29-Aug-1920

Place of Birth: Renton, Washington, United States

Date of Death: 25-Jul-1985

Profession: teacher, choreographer

Zodiac Sign: Virgo

Karel Shook (August 8, 1920 – July 25, 1985) was an American ballet master, choreographer and writer.
He was co-founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem. He was born in Renton, Washington.
Shook was a child actor in the Seattle Repertory Theatre.
He was awarded a scholarship to the Cornish College of the Arts at the age of 13; there, he was encouraged by founder Nellie Cornish to study ballet.
Soon afterwards, he danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo for several seasons and performed in Broadway musicals.
He danced with the New York City Ballet in 1949.
In 1952, he became a member of the faculty of the Katherine Dunham School of Dance; after that school closed in 1954, he opened his own school.
He joined the faculty of the June Taylor School in 1957.
In 1959, he became teacher at the Dutch National Ballet; he later became ballet master for the company.
In 1968, with Arthur Mitchell, he founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem.His students included Arthur Mitchell, Alvin Ailey, Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder.He published a number of works including: Elements of Classical Ballet Technique (1977) Beyond the Mist, a collection of poetryShook developed choreography for performance on stage, opera, film and television.In 1980, he received a presidential award for education.Shook died at home in Englewood, New Jersey at the age of 64.