Cholly Atkins

Charles Sylvan Atkinson, known professionally as Cholly Atkins, was born on September 13, 1913, in Pratt City, Alabama, and went on to become one of the most influential figures in American popular dance as both a performer and choreographer. He died on April 19, 2003, in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the age of 89, following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in March of that year.

Atkins began dancing in the late 1930s before entering military service in 1942 during World War II. After his discharge from the U.S. Army, he partnered with Charles "Honi" Coles to form Atkins & Coles, a vaudeville dance act that made its debut at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The duo toured nationally and internationally, sharing stages with major jazz and swing ensembles led by Louis Armstrong, Charlie Barnet, Count Basie, Cab Calloway, and Lionel Hampton. Between 1949 and 1952, Atkins and Coles brought their partnership to Broadway, appearing in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, Atkins shifted toward choreography for vocal groups, developing a style he termed "vocal choreography," in which singers combined stylized gestures and steps with their performances. Among the groups he worked with during this period were the Cadillacs, the Shirelles, the Moonglows, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, and Little Anthony & the Imperials. In 1962 he worked as a freelance choreographer for The Miracles, and in 1964 Berry Gordy hired him as a staff choreographer at Motown. In that role, Atkins developed the signature stage routines of The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Marvelettes, and Gladys Knight & the Pips, among others, continuing his association with Motown artists well into the 1980s. He also choreographed for artists outside the Motown roster, including the Sylvers and The O'Jays, appearing alongside the latter on an episode of Soul Train in October 1975. Additionally, Atkins worked with Detroit rock band DC Drive and appeared in their "You Need Love" video, and was featured in The Temptations' video for "Lady Soul."

In 1989, Atkins received the Tony Award for Best Choreography for his work on the Broadway production Black and Blue. Four years later, in 1993, he accepted a National Endowment for the Arts three-year fellowship to tour colleges and universities teaching vocal choreography. He continued teaching dance in Las Vegas until February 2003.

Atkins was married three times. His first marriage, to Catherine Gayle Williams, took place on November 27, 1936, in Los Angeles; they divorced in 1944. His second wife, Dorothy "Dottie" Lee Saulters, had previously been married to Honi Coles and had become Atkins's dance partner in 1942; they married on September 2, 1944, in Wilmington, Delaware, while Atkins was still in the Army. Atkins subsequently married Maye Ollie Harrison, born in 1918, and remained married to her until his death.