Julian Swain

Julian Swain, 86, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, April 19, 2011, in Rockford at Swedish American Hospital. Julian was born Dec. 8, 1924, in Chicago and raised by his mother, Sarah Elizabeth Davis Swain. He attended Stephen A. Douglas Elementary School and Wendell Phillips High School. At Chicago's Southside Community Arts Center, Julian met artists like Margaret Goss Burroughs and Gordon Parks and took lessons with dancers Lester Goodman, Lucille Ellis, Wilbert Bradley, Sammy Dyer, Tommy Gomez and Jimmy Payne. He also performed with Carmencita Romero in the Annual Artists Ball at the Savoy. In 1940, Julian traveled with Romero and danced in Toronto before learning about African dance in New York from Senegal's Assadata Dafora. After returning to Chicago, Julian worked as one of choreographer Lon Fontaine's "Beige Beaus" at the Beige Room. Julian then became choreographer and lead dancer at Chicago's Club DeLisa. Julian gained his greatest notoriety as a member of the Co-Op Trio with Peter Green and Ann Henry. The Co-Ops performed with acts like Count Basie and in venues like Larry Steele's Club Harlem in Atlantic City, NJ and Arthur Bragg's Idlewild Review in MI. In 1971, Julian formed the Julian Swain Inner City Dance Theatre at Malcom X College. As a singer and actor Julian has performed in many musical revivals including Okoro Harold Johnson's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore", Randall Johnson's "Le Stardust Revue, A tribute to Duke Ellington", Chuck Hoenes' "Best of the Hit Paraders" and "Sugar". Julian was featured in the movie "The Blues Brothers", and also performed in Carlos Santana and Michelle Branch's "The Game of Love" video. Among the many awards Julian received were Black Theatre Alliance Award, 2004 Chicago Senior Citizen Award, Muntu Dance Theatre and the African American Arts Alliance Lifetime Achievement Awards, and the Najwa Dance Corp. for his contribution to the arts and dance. A memorial gathering will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, May 4, 2011, at Fitzgerald Funeral Home and Crematory, Mulford Chapel, 1860 S. Mulford Rd., Rockford, IL 61108 with a time of sharing memories at 8 p.m. The family will be planning a memorial gathering after June 1, 2011, to be held in Chicago.