Andrea Herbert Major

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Andrea Herbert Major
Occupation(s)Dancer and choreographer
OrganizationRoxbury Center for the Performing Arts
Website https://www.rcpaboston.org/

Andrea Herbert Major is a dancer and choreographer based in Boston. She is also the artistic director and founder of the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts. [1]

Major grew up in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. As a child, she was not accepted into the white dance school. [2] She and her mother were referred to the Kennedy Dancing School, run by Mildred Kennedy Bradic, a dancer who also trained Dianne Walker. [3]

Major graduated from the Boston Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. [4] She also studied at the Dance Theater of Harlem. [4] Major began offering dance classes at the Roxbury YMCA and opened her first dance school in 1967. She changed the name of the dance school to the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts in 1972. [4] The dance school has been open for 57 years. [5]

Her school has produced professional dancers like Christopher Huggins who joined the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. [6]

In 2017, Major was honored by the Boston Dance Alliance as Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champion. [7] In 2023, she was recognized as one of "Boston’s most admired, beloved, and successful Black Women leaders" by the Black Women Lead project. [8] [9] [10]

References

  1. ↑ "'Sankofa' brings Black history to life – The Bay State Banner". baystatebanner.com. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  2. ↑ Chronicle 5 WCVB (2018-08-09). Andrea Herbert Major's work mentoring city kids has inspired them to dream big . Retrieved 2025-07-21– via YouTube.
  3. ↑ Close, Heather (2022-02-04). "16 Black Artists Who Impacted Jazz Dance History". Decidedly Jazz. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  4. 1 2 3 "HOME". RCPABOSTON. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  5. ↑ Scachetti, Leanna (2025-03-18). "Roxbury dance school performs hundreds of years of Black history". WCVB. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  6. ↑ Hathaway, Debbie (June 20, 2019). "Choreographer Christopher L Huggins chats new ballet Amaranth". Bizcommunity.com. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  7. ↑ Cash, Debra (2017-03-16). "BDA Celebrates Andrea Herbert Major and James K Spriggs at 2017 Gala". BDA. Retrieved 2025-07-21.
  8. ↑ "Black Women Lead". Greater Grove Hall Main Streets. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  9. ↑ Sullivan, Mike (2023-10-04). "Portraits along Blue Hill Avenue honor Boston's Black women leaders". CBS Boston. Retrieved 2024-10-24.
  10. ↑ Gaskin, Ed (10 April 2025). Black Women Lead: Boston's Most Admired, Beloved, and Iconic Leaders, 1700 - Present. Independently published. ISBN   979-8317465209.


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