Debbie Allen is still breaking it down on the dancefloor.
The multihyphenate is a dancer, choreographer, singer-songwriter, director and producer and she opened the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in 2001. It’s through that nonprofit that she’s given us footage celebrating the 35th anniversary of Janet Jackson’s essential studio album “Control.”
The “Fame” alum posted a clip of her busting a move with dancers at the academy on her Instagram page Wednesday. The movements, choreographed by Wayne “Juice” Mackins, were covered with a flashing light filter of green, yellow, blue and red.
“We [heart] you, @JanetJackson! #Control35 @OfficialDADance,” the caption read in part.
Allen, who turned 71 last month, didn’t miss a beat and the video quickly went viral, racking up over 167,000 likes and more than 5,000 comments.
Among the people piling on the praise was fellow “Fame” alum Jackson who left three kissy-face emoji in the comments. The singer/dancer also shared the video on her Instagram account writing, “#iLuvIT @therealdebbieallen!!!!”
“LOVE YOU JANET,” Allen commented with a kiss and heart emoji.
Love for Allen’s moves also poured out on Twitter after Jackson posted the footage on the social media platform.
Allen, of course, is no stranger to dance. Since she rose to stardom following appearances on Broadway and on TV’s “Good Times” and “Roots: The Next Generations,” she scored the role that she’s perhaps the most well-known for: dance teacher Lydia Grant on the “Fame” TV series, which followed her small appearance in the film. On the show, she also served as the principal choreographer.
Since then, she’s been given many accolades, including representing the United States as a Cultural Ambassador of Dance following an appointment by former President George W. Bush. For more than 15 years, Allen has been the artist in residence at the Kennedy Center where she created seminal works with superstar jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and the late R&B icon James Ingram. They include the children’s musical “Pepito’s Story” and the musical “Soul Possessed,” which she performed in Atlanta with Kenny Leon.
Atlanta is also where she brought the Debbie Allen Dance Academy for a two-week stint in the summer of 2017.
“Both times when I came to do a production, I would find the most amazing singers in the world, but the dance lacked,” Allen told WABE at the time. “I felt like this was a community that embraced what I had to offer, and I thought they needed what I had to offer.”
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