Hope Clarke

Hope Clarke

Birth : 1941-03-23, Washington, D.C

History

Hope Clarke is an American actress, dancer, vocalist, choreographer, and director. Clarke performed as principal dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, 1960s; actress on stage, film, and television, 1970s–1980s; choreographer and director, 1980s--. Clarke served on the Tony Awards Nominating Committee for the 2011–12 Broadway season. Clarke made history in 1995 when she became the first African American, as well as the first African-American woman, to direct and choreograph a major staging of the opera-musical Porgy and Bess. Clarke's production of the George Gershwin classic was staged in celebration of the work's 60h anniversary, and it toured not only major American cities but Japan and Europe as well. Clarke drew critical acclaim for her commitment to staging the show as a monument to African-American community and pride, giving a more hopeful, positive aura to a story that has been criticized for its stereotypes. As for the director herself, the success of Porgy and Bess is just the latest accolade in a long career devoted to dance and drama.

Profile

Hope Clarke

Movies

Ailey
Herself
Alvin Ailey was a visionary artist who found salvation through dance. Told in his own words and through the creation of a dance inspired by his life, this immersive portrait follows a man who, when confronted by a world that refused to embrace him, determined to build one that would.
Men Without Jobs
Ms. Jackson
Men Without Jobs is a comedy about Ish and Oz - best friends and roommates whose main goal in life is to avoid work at all costs. Ish is a graffiti artist who dreams of starting his own hip-hop band. Oz is an obnoxious loudmouth, addicted to gambling and cooking shows. When Ish collects several thousand dollars in a lawsuit settlement stemming from a childhood accident, Oz tries to convince him to invest the money in a pyramid scam in order to help him pay off a debt to a sadistic loan shark. The stakes are raised when Ish's girlfriend Veronica gives him an ultimatum to either get a job or get lost. Ultimately, the two eccentric slackers are forced to wake up and realize that sooner or later, everybody has to get a job! Written by Matthewz, Mad
Basquiat
Matilde Basquiat
The brief life of Jean Michel Basquiat, a world renowned New York street artist struggling with fame, drugs and his identity.
A Father's Homecoming
Doctor
Beat Street
Dancing instructor
An aspiring DJ, from the South Bronx, and his best friend, a promoter, try to get into show business by exposing people to hip-hop music and culture.
Scout's Honor
Mrs. Prewett
Gary Coleman stars as little Joey Seymour, a clever but lonely orphan shuffled from one foster home to the next, who is also determined to be the best Cub Scout ever. Pearl Bartlett (Katherine Helmond) is a hard-working executive who dislikes children, but she must take on a troop of Cub Scouts and become a den mother to save her job. Somewhere along the way, Joey teaches Pearl the true meaning of caring.
Jennifer: A Woman’s Story
Annie
The widow of a wealthy shipbuilder tries to hold onto his business and becomes involved with boardroom intrigue in her bitter struggle to maintain control of the company. Based on British TV series "The Foundation." Pilot to a prospective series.
A Piece of the Action
Sarah Thomas
How does retired cop Joshua Burke (James Earl Jones) get two career criminals, Manny Durrell (Sidney Poitier) and Dave Anderson (Bill Cosby), to follow the straight and narrow? Con them into helping juvenile delinquents turn over a new leaf. But how? Burke has never been able to nail the duo, but he uses what he knows of their seedy past to blackmail them into volunteering.
The Baron
Cokeman's Girl
A black actor tries to make his own movie with an all-black cast, but to make it he's forced to borrow money from the Mafia.
Book of Numbers
Pigmeat Goins
Two waiters in Depression-era Arkansas get involved in the numbers racket.
Going Home
Mother at Prison
After doing 13 years in prison for the murder of his wife, mechanic Harry Graham is out on parole and looking to rebuild his life in a small seaside community. He settles into a trailer park and finds both a job and a girlfriend. But things get difficult for Harry when his estranged son, Jimmy, shows up. He witnessed his mother's murder as a child and, after years spent in foster homes, has come looking for revenge.
Change of Mind
Nancy
A white man's brain is transplanted into a black man's skull.