The HistoryMakers

Dancer, choreographer, and theatrical producer Marla D. Blakey was born on April 26, 1949 in Washington, D.C. She grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, and as a teen, created stage shows with neighborhood children at St. Mark's Social Center, part of the church program ministered by her legendary grandfather, Reverend Samuel L. Laviscount, pastor of St. Mark's Congregational Church.

At the age of sixteen following her graduation from Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Boston, Massachusetts, Blakey went, with her mother's permission, directly to Atlantic City, New Jersey where she performed as a dancer at Club Harlem. There, she performed with Sammy Davis, Jr., Billy Eckstein, Sarah Vaughan, and with the bands of Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway to name a few. She was still under twenty years of age when she danced in Las Vegas, Miami and Chicago. After performing in Chicago, she went to Europe, dancing in Amsterdam, London, Germany, Belgium, and Italy. While in Europe, she put together her own dance group and produced and booked shows at U.S. Army bases. After a few years in Europe, she returned to Boston, opening her own dance studio and forming the Marla Blakey dancers.

In 1975, Blakey moved to Los Angeles to advance her career. There, she choreographed and staged shows for artists such as, Donna Summer, Anne Murray, Aretha Franklin, Bette Midler, David Bowie, Sting, and several Motown artists. She also choreographed and staged her first television special, Motown Returns to the Apollo for NBC. Blakey's career on stage, as a producer, and her affinity for jazz music was forged through the influence of her father, Ruble Blakey, who sang with Lionel Hampton's band. Blakey first met her father at the age of twelve in Paris, France, where he was working as a booking agent for some jazz greats.

During Blakey's thirty years of travel, performing and producing shows, her heart was never far away from her childhood years on the Island of Martha's Vineyard, where her mother owned a summer home. In 1988, she moved to Martha's Vineyard as a year-round resident. On Martha's Vineyard, she has been a prolific and significant producer, director and choreographer. Each summer she brings productions to the island's performing arts centers and playhouses.

Blakey was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 9, 2005.