Carmencita Romero; Choreographer, Dance Teacher
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Carmencita Romero, 87, a dancer and choreographer who performed with the influential Katherine Dunham troupe for several years, died May 6 at a nursing home in New York City.
Born Lily Butler in Chicago, Romero joined Dunham, the first African American to sustain a black dance company, at the age of 18 and changed her name.
She appeared in the musicals “Cabin in the Sky” and “Carmen Jones,” and toured with Dunham’s company as a featured soloist until 1942.
In the late 1940s, Romero returned to Chicago, where she opened a dance school.
She later opened dance schools in Tokyo and Rome and taught throughout Europe.
After returning to the United States in 1981, she became an instructor at Spelman College in Atlanta.
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