Dancer Vivian Nixon, daughter of Debbie Allen, proves herself a star in own right after Broadway success

Jet, August 14, 2006 by Margena A. Christian

The Broadway musical Hot Feet might have hung up its dance shoes after a three-month run, but Vivian Nixon, the show's star, is just getting warmed up.

"She's got that thing that makes you think she is larger than life," says acclaimed director/choreographer Maurice Hines, who created, directed and choreographed Hot Feet that moved to the sounds of Earth, Wind & Fire (EWF). "There's a magic that she has. Either you have that or you don't. You can't make it. You can't teach it. She's got it."

One might say Nixon was destined for stardom. She is the daughter of celebrated dancer/choreographer/producer/ director/actress Debbie Allen and retired NBA star Norm Nixon.

Her Broadway debut, however, proved that Vivian is a star in her own right (JET, May 22). The show's final number features her doing a 12-minute ballet that ended with the well-trained dancer doing a running split leap over another dancer's head.

"I do my best and give what I have," says Nixon, who portrayed Kalimba, a young girl from the Bronx with aspirations of joining a top dance troupe in search of fame.

Her character does high-energy routines to EWF classics like Serpentine Fire, Boogie Wonderland, After The Love Is Gone, Shining Star, Getaway and September. The show also starred Tony-winner Ann Duquesnay, Keith David/Mel Johnson, Jr., Wynonna Smith and Allen Hidalgo.

"All my life I've been around dance," says 22-year-old Nixon, a recent graduate of Fordham University's The Ailey School. "I was making" up dance routines before I could talk. I didn't take it seriously until I was 13. (My mom) allowed me to do what I wanted to do and kind of' find my niche."

Nixon first trained as a gymnast until she was encouraged by her mother to find another hobby after a fellow gymnast fell and was seriously injured. She then began formal training at the Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C.

"It's hard to train under your parents," she laughs. "I've done shows with my mother. She's hard on everyone, but (other performers) felt bad for me because if they got it bad, I got it ten times worse. It was hard."

She did eventually continue her training at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. Upon entering Fordham University, she became a part of Ailey II, which trains some of the world's best young dancers.

Hines first discovered her talent after visiting Nixon's class during her sophomore year at Fordham.

"She did this one step preparation and a full split jete in the air," he recalls. "With one step preparation, that's almost impossible to do. I gasped. I called her mother from the school."

Offering the lead role to Nixon was a distinction for Hines. Nearly 30 years ago he worked with her mother in the national tour of Guys and Dolls.

"I've dreamed of being on Broadway all my life," says Nixon, who made her Broadway debut on April 30. "I felt so honored and blessed."

No stranger to theater, Nixon appeared in 2002's Pearl, a contemporary adaptation of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. She first originated the role at the Kennedy Center and worked alongside her mother, who wrote, directed, choreographed and starred in the production.

Nixon's other works have included Brothers of the Night, Dreams and Soul Possessed.

Nixon's future is so bright that the rising star was even honored with her own day on June 12 in New Britain, CT, by Mayor Timothy Stewart.

Fighting off the "stigma" of being "the daughter of" has been a challenge, but she remains optimistic because she is her own person.

"I definitely think that being around my mother has influenced me tremendously. She's guided me and pointed me in the right direction, but I've done it on my own," explains Nixon. "I'm very good friends with Denzel Washington's son (John David) JD and he gets the same thing all the time. JD's in football. But they still say, 'Denzel is his father.' No, JD did the work by himself. My mother may be in the same profession as me, but I've done all the work. She supported me and may have introduced me to people. Someone can get you through the door, but you have to sustain it yourself. That's been the biggest lesson that I've learned."

A dancer though she may be, Nixon says she knows no boundaries as a performer.

"I would love to branch out and do other things. I'd love to get into movies and television. I want to do everything."

That desire won't be hard for Nixon to achieve. "This is just the beginning of a spectacular career," says Hines, "and I'm so proud that I was there at the beginning to nurture it."