Camden Richman

1948 - 2016

Camden (Anne Louise) Richman

November 14, 1948-April 19, 2016

Camden (Annie) Richman died in Oakland in the care of her partner Tom Dannenberg, family, and friends. She was born in Berkeley, California, to Chaim and Betty Richman and earned a B.A. in art from the University of California, Berkeley. After performing modern dance with Merce Cunningham and the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and tap percussion with Eddie Brown, Honi Coles, and Noel Parenti, Camden launched the Camden Richman Quartet with musicians Paul Arslanian, Keith Terry, and Tom Dannenberg. WIth grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, she sought "to integrate and extend traditions of jazz music and jazz tap percussion, and establish a new definition of the dancer-musician relationship". In 1979, the Quartet joined Lynn Dally and Fred Strickland as the Jazz Tap Ensemble, touring the U.S. and Europe. She danced in Gregory Hines' Tap Dance in America TV series, with Honi Coles at the Smithsonian, and worked with Gregory Hines choreographing the film Cotton Club. She taught both children and adults. Camden lived with sparkling creativity and loving kindness. She is survived by her father Chaim Richman; sister Catherine Richman Cooper (Robert); brothers Stephen Richman (Deborah) and Jeff Richman (Kate); nephews David Cooper and Daniel Richman; Tom's sister Susan Ruskin; and Crane sisters Kimi Okada and Jean Sugihara. Please support young artists in her memory.