Ann Williams

Ann Marie Williams (born Annie Marie Ferrell; October 21, 1937), is an American dancer, choreographer and the founder of the Dallas Black Dance Theater, the oldest continually operating dance company in Dallas, TX. Early life and education Annie Marie Ferrell was born on October 21, 1937, in Coolidge, Texas, to Lloyd and Izora Ferrell. She attended the Sandy Community School, Phillis Wheatley Elementary School in Hubbard, Texas, St. Anthony's Catholic School, and Lincoln High School in Dallas, Texas, graduating in 1955. It was at Lincoln High School that she was first introduced to dance and the local art community. Williams attended Prairie View A&M University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in Dance before becoming the first African American woman to graduate with an MFA from Texas Woman's University. Dance career Williams studied in New York City under Arthur Mitchell, before receiving additional instruction from Edith James, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and Alvin Ailey. Following her training in New York, she returned to Dallas and began teaching dance for the Dallas Independent School District. In 1968, after receiving a $1 million Ford Foundation grant, she began the first dance department at Bishop College, in Dallas, TX.