Millie Cruzat
WHEREAS, We, the members of the Chicago City Council, wish to honor the life of Millie Cruzat, A History Maker, dancer, model, artist, mother, wife, and devoted resident and community leader in the City ofChicago; and
WHEREAS, Millie Cruzat was bom in Detroit on February 17, 1927, making her the third born of four children in her immediate family; and
WHEREAS, Millie Cruzat attended public schools in Detroit, and then spent a year at Highland Park Junior College in Detroit before going to New York where she attended the American School of Ballet at Carnegie Hall; and
WHEREAS, Millie Cruzat worked as a sales associate at Bloomingdales while studying in New York, and joined Larry Steele's productions "Shuffle Along" and "Smart Affairs" upon completing her training. In 1950, she attended Ziggy Johnson's School of Ballet in her native Detroit where she became an instructor. Her next destination was St Louis, where she worked as a performer on the Spider Burke TV Show, the first African-American Television show in the St Louis market She eventually left the show to focus on raising her three children; and
WHEREAS, Cruzat played tennis and even made the quarter finals in the Women's 35 Singles at the American Tennis Association National Championships; and
WHEREAS, Cruzat moved to Chicago upon her marriage to the love of her life Dr. Edward "Teddy" P. Cruzat. She started dancing again in 1975, making her re-entry with the Joseph Holmes Dance Theatre where she stayed for five years before joining Tony Wilson Dance Company and the Bell School of Performing arts as an instructor of children's and adults' ballet and fitness; and
WHEREAS, Cruzat was also a community activist In 1983, she joined the Chicago Urban League where she taught fitness and dance to young mothers; and
WHEREAS, 1983 was also the year she opened the Millie Cruzat Total Fitness Center where she was able to continue pursuing her passion of teaching fitness and dance to students of all ages; and
WHEREAS, In the years following Cruzat became a part of various programs in Chicago where she was able to teach fitness and dance to students of all ages, including the COPE program at the University of Chicago, Beethoven Elementary School, and Lake Meadows Fitness Center. In 2002, she joined the Stewart Modeling Agency where she worked as a model; and
WHEREAS, She continued to pursue running her own fitness center, modeling and instructing with different programs while also being an active member of organizations, including Rainbow/PUSH Coalition. She also served on the boar of Joseph Holmes Dance Troup and the Katherine Dunham Retrospective; and
WHEREAS, Cruzat spent her life as a devoted mother to her children, and simultaneously fostered the development of African American children through dance and fitness. She made an impact on countless lives with her talent and service to her community and ultimately lived life her way; and
WHEREAS, On behalf of the entire 4th Ward, Alderman Sophia King would like to extend Millie Cruzat her honor for her longtime commitment to her family, dance, and the City of Chicago; and
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Members ofthe City Council ofthe City ofChicago, assembled on October 14, 2021, do hereby extend our heartfelt gratitude to Millie Cruzat, and sincere sympathy to her family; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution are presented to the Cruzat family
Sophia Kfiig ^ Alderman, 4'" Ward
as a sign of/>ur honor, gratitude, and celebration of Millie Cruzat's legacy.