Carmencita Romero

Carmencita Romero (born Lily Butler; 1914 – May 6, 2001) was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. She was associated with Katherine Dunham's company, appeared in the original Broadway productions of Cabin in the Sky and Carmen Jones, and was connected to Chicago's Artists and Models Ball and her 1947 revue Pagan Drums. She later worked as a dance educator in the United States, Europe, Tokyo, and Rome, with teaching and organizational connections including Spelman College, The Ailey School, Studio Watts Workshop, and the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre. A historical essay on the South Side Community Art Center states that the Artists and Models Ball first brought Romero to prominence as a dancer and dance teacher.

In the late 1940s, Romero returned to Chicago and opened a dance school. The William McBride Jr. Papers at the Chicago Public Library include a listing for Romero's Pagan Drums, presented at DuSable Auditorium in Chicago on March 1, 1947. Studio Watts Workshop opened in Los Angeles in 1964 and offered free classes taught by artists including Romero; another source, citing Jayne Cortez's account of the organization, identifies Romero as the workshop's dance instructor.

The New York Public Library Archives states that the Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theatre worked with several African-American choreographers and dancers, including Romero.

Romero's teaching was also connected to Katherine Dunham's technique. Dance writer Wendy Perron wrote that Walter Nicks and Romero kept the Dunham technique alive in Europe.

A WorldCat catalogue record lists Romero among the contributors to a 1983 Dance Black America symposium recording on Caribbean and Latin American influences in American dance.

In 1996, Romero was a panelist in Classic Black: The Experience of the Black Dancer in Choosing a School, presented by the Dance Collection of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the Dance Research Foundation.

In 1999, Romero taught a workshop at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival, where it was listed as "Modern Ethnic Dance".

Nichelle Nichols began studying dance under Romero at the age of twelve. The HistoryMakers biography of dancer Najwa I states that her study of African dance in New York City was enriched by several teachers, including Romero.

Death

Romero died at a nursing home in New York City on May 6, 2001, at age 87.