Verla Flowers
Washington dance teacher
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Verla Flowers (October 31, 1913 – March 16, 2002) was an American dancer and dance educator, based in Seattle, Washington. One of her students was choreographer Mark Morris.
Verla Flowers | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 31, 1913 |
| Died | March 16, 2002 (aged 88) |
| Other names | Verla Flowers Halladay (after marriage) |
| Occupations | Dancer, dance educator |
Early life
Verla Flowers was from Seattle, the daughter of Charles Herbert Flowers and Augusta Flowers. Her father was a machinist, and both parents were active in labor union work.[1] She had a younger sister, Lorna; they performed as a child duet, and were known as the Halloween Sisters, because they were both born on October 31.[2] She graduated from Ballard High School in 1931, and the Cornish College of the Arts, where she studied under Welland Lathrop.[3]
Career
Flowers began to teach dance when she was a teenager. For decades, Flowers was the proprietor of Verla Flowers Dance Arts in Seattle's Greenwood neighborhood, and trained generations of Seattle's young dancers.[4] One of her young students was choreographer Mark Morris; she encouraged the gifted teenager to teach, to study ballet and fencing, and to create his own dances for studio recitals.[5][6] Morris recalled her as "unbelievably fabulous, and generous, and supportive and great."[2] When she retired in 1990, she sold her business mailing list to Elizabeth Chayer, of the American Dance Institute in Seattle and Shoreline, Washington.[7]
