Dr. Glory Van Scott is an actress, singer, dancer, director, producer, composer, and a playwright. She was a principal dancer for the Katherine Dunham, Agnes de Mille and Talley Beatty dance companies and the American Ballet Theatre. Her Off-Broadway performances include SHOW BOAT (1961), PORGY AND BESS (1961), FLYBLACKBIRD (1962), THE EXCEPTION AND THE RULE, double bill with THE PRODIGAL SON (directed by Vinnette Carroll) (1965), WHO’S WHO BABY? (1968), BILLY NONAME (1970), MISS TRUTH (1972) and A MATTER OF TIME (1975). At Urban Arts Corp., founded by Vinnette Carroll, she performed in STEP LIVELY BOYS and DON’T BOTHER ME, I CAN’T COPE, and at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, she was Director and Choreographer for GET IT ON, MARY OF SCOTLAND, and THE SYVILLA SUITE. She has performed in Carnegie Hall, Greenwich Mews Theatre (Greenwich Players Inc.), Mayfair Theatre, The Negro Ensemble Company, Players Theatre, Symphony Space, The Truck and Warehouse Theatre, The Nat Horne Theatre (MISS TRUTH (1972)), The Apollo Theatre, The Alvin Theatre, City Center, The Kennedy Center (SING AMERICA SING (1975)), and The Schubert Theatre, and has toured extensively, both nationally and internationally.

Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Van Scott came from a close, talented family. Her oldest brother Jerry became a movie star in Hollywood but decided he didn’t like the profession. Dr. Van Scott attended the Abraham Lincoln Center, built by Frank Lloyd Wright. She also went to the Abraham Lincoln Center Camp, also built by Frank Lloyd Wright. In both she was surrounded by highly motivated teachers and students who became life-long friends and inspired her to nurture her talents as a dancer, singer and writer. Her first professional appearances were on Broadway in House of Flowers (1954), and Kwamina (1961), before she worked Off-Broadway. Other Broadway productions include The Great White Hope (1968), Billy Noname (1970), and The Boys Choir of Harlem and Friends (1993). She appeared in the following movies: The Sins of Jezebel (Europe 1965) and The Wiz (1978). She produced the Katherine Dunham Gala and An Evening of Spirituals at Carnegie Hall. She wrote and produced Final Ladder and We Be Women, choreographed and directed May We Go Around, and was project director for The Magic of Katherine Dunham for the Alvin Ailey Company. She wrote and composed nine musicals including MISS TRUTH, and books including Baba and the Flea (1972), and Glory: A Life Among Legends (2018). She received her B.A. and M.A. from Goddard College, and a Ph.D. from Antioch College’s Union Graduate School. She is the Founder of Dr. Glory’s Children’s Theatre, now known as Dr. Glory’s Youth Theatre. Dr. Van Scott is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Katherine Dunham Legacy Award in 2002.