Source: Netflix \/ Netflix<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

MadameNoire: Black women in particular have a\u00a0 problem prioritizing everyone around them and then we don\u2019t think about ourselves until something happens. So how did you come to the conclusion that you need to be further up in the line?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debbie Allen: <\/strong>Well because I am the center of my family\u2019s life. My daughter, my grandchildren, my son, my husband, my family at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA). Even here at Grey\u2019s Anatomy\u2014the COVID protocols are so intense here. Everybody was looking at me like, \u2018Debbie, you can\u2019t go down. You cannot go down!\u2019 I\u2019m like calm down. We\u2019re being safe.<\/p>\n

But I am. If I don\u2019t go to the grocery store, we might not have what we need. I still have to do these things. I might be Debbie Allen to the world but I\u2019m Mama and Mrs. Nixon at home. I have certain responsibilities. I\u2019ve been very careful. I started wearing two masks now and the shield.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been getting my exercise in now. My son went and got me a trainer when I told him about my diagnosis. He said, \u2018Mom, you\u2019re not doing enough.\u2019 Twice a week with her, my Instagram class and my own exercises on the weekends. As long as I get in a good 4-5 times a week and eat properly, I think that will help manage my pre diabetic prognosis.<\/p>\n

MadameNoire: You\u2019re going to receive the Lifetime Achievement award from the Kennedy Center. What does that mean to you and did you envision yourself in this place when you started out?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debbie Allen: <\/strong>First of all, I was so overwhelmed and surprised\u2026<\/p>\n

MadameNoire:<\/strong> Really?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Debbie Allen: <\/strong>Totally, I promise you. I just never expected to get this award. I\u2019ve worked with the Kennedy Center for the last 25 years or more. I\u2019ve done so many programs. They call me. And I bring and I do. I\u2019m always there to serve because that is the people\u2019s house. It is our cultural, theatrical house. So when I got the call, I thought I was getting a call for another assignment. So when someone told me, you\u2019ve been unanimously voted to receive this honor, I just was taken aback. It means a lot to me and my whole family. It\u2019s an honor I share with all the people who have mentored me, trained me. From\u00a0 my Howard professors, my teachers in New York, the young people that I work with daily who inspire me to do the work that I do. I share that with all of them. I\u2019ve been blessed to be in situations from \u201cFame,\u201d to \u201cA Different World\u201d to now \u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy,\u201d where we change the world with our programming. \u201cA Different World\u201d tripled enrollment in Historically Black College and inspired all young people to go to college.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrey\u2019s Anatomy\u201d has helped millions of people with their health and it\u2019s inspired people to get in the medical profession. So I have long had a history of doing work that is significant.<\/p>\n

DADA, I\u2019ve trained thousands of young people who are working professionally, not just in dance and creative arts. But they have a sense of themselves and a sense of creativity.<\/p>\n

I feel really blessed to do what I do and this award speaks to all of that to me.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got to write the book.<\/p>\n

MadameNoire: Yes! Please, please. <\/strong><\/p>\n

MadameNoire: I\u2019m sure the work you do is fulfilling but it\u2019s work so what keeps you motivated and inspired to even try new things at this point in your career. You really don\u2019t have to. You\u2019ve done enough. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Debbie Allen: <\/strong>I maybe have done enough but I haven\u2019t done everything that I can do and want to do. I want to make Hot Chocolate Nutcracker <\/em>into a feature film so the world can really see it. I have stories that I\u2019ve been working on for years. You know I produced Amistad <\/em>with Steven Spielberg, it took me 18 years. But there are other stories now that need to be told.<\/p>\n

So what wakes me up is those wonderful young people that are nipping at my heels\u2014\u2018Ms. Allen, Ms. Allen.\u2019 And I\u2019m paying attention to them and what they\u2019re trying to do and what they could do. I am taking time with them.<\/p>\n