Robert Powell

Powell, Robert (b Hawaii, 1941, d New York, 24 Oct. 1977). US dancer. He studied at the High School of Performing Arts in New York and began dancing with the Martha Graham company in 1958, eventually becoming a soloist. He created roles in Graham's Acrobats of God (1960), Secular Games (1962), Circe (1963), Plain of Prayer (1968), A Time of Snow (1968), and The Archaic Hours (1968). He also danced with Glen Tetley, creating the role of Brighella in Tetley's Pierrot Lunaire (1962), and with Paul Taylor, José Limón, Louis Falco, Alvin Ailey, and London Contemporary Dance Theatre, where he created a leading role in Robert Cohan's Cell (1969). He was also associate director of the Graham company. A highly expressive modern dancer.