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Memorial
Gay Ann Delanghe
Regents' Proceedings 78
Regents' Proceedings 78
Gay Delanghe, professor of dance, died August 1, 2006, after a courageous battle with cancer. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Delanghe attended Cass Technical High School, and received her early training in ballet with Sandra Severo. She received her BS and MA from the University of Michigan, continuing her dance studies with Esther Pease and Jeanne Parsons Bostian. Upon graduation, Professor Delanghe moved to New York City, where she worked as a principal dancer with Lucas Hoving, touring nationally and internationally. In 1972, she returned to the University of Michigan as a faculty member in the newly formed Department of Dance. She was chair of the Department of Dance from 1995-2002.
A leading Michigan artist, Professor Delanghe was central to the development of modern dance in Michigan for over four decades. She was a charismatic and brilliant dancer who performed with seminal and avant-garde modern dance companies. She was a masterful choreographer and a loving and challenging mentor who played a central role in shaping the lives of her many students, colleagues, and friends.
Professor Delanghe began teaching at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in the 1970s, and served as chair of the modern dance program there from 1979-99, training hundreds of young, talented dancers. She received numerous awards and honors, including a Michigan Artist Award from the Arts Foundation of Michigan, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Michigan Dance Council, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from Wayne State University. She was a founding member of Ann Arbor Dance Works, formed in 1984, and presented her choreography with them nationally and internationally. She also choreographed regularly for the University of Michigan Dance Company.
Gay Delanghe is survived by her beloved mother, Lenore Delanghe, and many other relatives and close friends. A devoted daughter and a true friend and mentor to many, Gay had an enormous following and a wide circle of close friends and relatives who will remember her for her wisdom, humor, enormous energy, and spectacular dancing.