September 17, 1944 — August 23, 2009
It is with profound sorrow that HCC Central Fine Arts announces the passing of Deborah Potts Quanaim, on Sunday, August 23rd. She was a founding member of HCC’s Fine Arts Division, and at the time of her death was eagerly planning a celebration of the division’s 30th anniversary. A memorial service will be held Friday, August 28, at 11am in the Heinen Theatre, on the Central College campus, 3517 Austin at Holman, 77004. It’s hard to pick just a few highlights from an extraordinary career -
- She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Agnes Scott College.
- She developed the first dance curriculum for community colleges in Texas.
- She was a founding member of the African Dance Society.
- She was founding director of the World Dance Institute.
- She was curator for the Tapestry of World Dance.
- She developed the Saturdays at Central program that introduced thousands of youngsters to the performing and visual arts.
- She was a vibrant, vital part of the dance community and for over 30 years she helped it grow – launched careers, mentored young dancers and choreographers, and cultivated emerging companies.
- She touched and changed the lives of young artists and the lives of thousands of students.
But one can name all her achievements, all the landmarks of an extraordinary career, and miss the most important thing - her energy, intellect, and the passionate integrity she brought to her mission. She believed in the transformative power of dance, she believed that art and education can change lives. She believed because she’d seen it- she’d made it happen.
Deborah believed in people. She believed in her students, she believed in her faculty, she believed in her staff. And if she believed in you, she was your champion and your challenger. She looked for the best in people and stepped forward to encourage, guide, inspire, and sometimes administer a swift kick. She expected commitment, she expected to see us grow, explore, discover. When we did, she reveled in it. She was a cheerleader, a provocateur, a leader without peer . It was a joy and a privilege and our great good luck to march in her parade.
Deborah was a verb, she was always in forward motion, always charging headlong into the future with enormous optimism, energy and the conviction that the work we do, the art we make, the students we teach, can change the world. At Central Fine Arts, we will mourn her and miss her. And then we will go back to our studios and classrooms, we will dance, we will sing and paint and act, we will move headlong into that future she saw, knowing that her spirit will be with us always.
In lieu of flowers, Deborah’s family suggests that donations be made to the $30 for 30 Years Campaign through the HCC Foundation. Deborah was instrumental in establishing this campaign in celebration of the thirtieth anniversary of the founding of the Fine Arts program at HCC’s Central College. Individuals may donate online at www.hccsfoundation.org/netcommunity/30years or by cash or check mailed to the HCC Foundation, Attn: $30 for 30 Years, 3100 Main Street (MC1148), Houston, TX 77002.
Tags: Deborah, Fine Arts Division Chair, Quanaim
I just came across this posting and my heart fell. Deborah was my teacher and company leader almost 20 years ago. She helped shape my passion for dance and deepened my artistic understand. Even moreso, when my tempestuous rebellious spirit pushed me to the limits of my parents tolenrance, Deborah took me under her wing and ensured I made it to school and dance class daily. My heart is saddened now knowing that I never really let her know how much she impacted me and how much i appreciate all that she did.
Not only did she help turn my life around, she launched the careers of several dancers in my class, many who continue to teach till this day. You were not only a teacher Deborah, you were an inspiration and a motivation. You made us love dance, and thru dance we grew to love you.
Thank you angel. May you soar where you belong.
Love always,
Kae
THIS IS A SURPRISE TO ME I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT MRS DEBORAH IS DEAD. IN 2006 I TOOK HER BALLET CLASS NO, MATTER HOW BAD I DID SHE KEPT ENCOURAGING ME TO DO BETTER. MRS DEBORAH HAD SO MUCH PATIENTS WITH ME . SHE WAS ONE OF A KIND NO ONE LIKE HER. THIS IS VERY DEVASTATING TO ME I’M STILL IN DISBELIEF THAT SHE IS GONE. FIVE MONTHS AGO WAS THE LAST TIME I SAW HER. DEAR FATHER LORD MAY HER SOUL REST IN PEACE AMEN.
Deborah has always inspired me with her dedication, clarity of right and wrong and her willingness to stand up and be counted. She is a great loss to me personally
I am a student at HCCS. I signed up for Ms Deborah’s online class on this fall but when I was about to start my class I heard about this terrible news. Personally I have never met her before but I feel connected to her since she was suppose to be my Dancing teacher. My prayers go to her family and friends. AMEN
I would like to wish Condolences to the family of ms Deborah Quanaim and also to the faculty and Staff of the Fine Arts Department. As a member of the HCC Community, our lives have all been touched by her hard work.
I only saw Deborah a handful of times as I used to teach dance at hcc town and country. I remember how myself and another teacher used to use a boom box all the time for classes. Then one day Deborah came to observe the class I was teaching she handed me a syllabus to use as a template for the class and within another month or so we had an outstanding sound system installed. Now they say it takes a village but in this village we definitely needed a leader like Deborah. She got things done and was persistant. My impression was that she was a visionary and didn’t let things get in the way of what she wanted to accomplish. She was a true inspiration and through that experience I’ve taken that knowledge into my current artistic work. Thank so much Deborah for impacting the arts community in such an extrodinary way.
I’m very sorry that Deborah has passed away.
My thoughts and prayers are with those who knew her and are mourning her loss. May you find solace in your many loving thoughts of her and encouragement from one another as you face difficult days ahead. Peace.
What is there to say about a friendship of nearly forty years? Deborah gave great inspiration on more than one occasion in my life. I don’t know that I added much to hers, except that we shared those early days of the Fine Arts Department with the various shifts of location, office space, and classrooms. Each conversation picked up where we left off. I will miss you, my friend.
I’M A 3RD SEMESTER STUDENT AT HCC PURSUING A DEGREE IN MUSIC. JULY 7TH 09, I HAD A NEAR SINK EPISODE TEN MINUTES INTO MY MUSIC FINAL. I DIDN’T KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO ME. LONG STORY SHORT, I WENT TO THE MUSIC OFFICE AND EVENTUALLY HANDED MY CELL PHONE TO DEBORAH QUANAIM. WITH NO REGARD TO WHO SHE DIDN’T WANT TO BE KNOWN AS (DR., PROFESSOR,ETC.) I SAID ,”LADY PLEASE, CALL 911, I FEEL TERRIBLE.” SHE DID SO WITHOUT INCIDENT. EMS CAME AND CARRIED ME TO ST. LUKES. I’M FINE NOW. I LEFT OUT DETAILS. MY POINT IS, I’M REALLY GLAD SHE WAS THERE FOR ME. I REGRET NOT BEING THERE FOR HER. NOW I CAN CELEBRATE MY 59TH BIRTHDAY WHEN IT COMES. AS MR. BROGDAN PLAYED, I COULD VISUALIZE MRS. QUANAIM LIGHTLY DANCING IN A GRASSY MEADOW BAREFOOT, UNDER TREES IN MEDIVAL TIMES. PEACE BE WITH YOU, AS FOR ME , I’M JUST ANOTHER GUITAR SLINGER, DA BLUEZ MAIN, ROB WALDRUP.
Deborah truly understood the meaning of the word Ability. Students had a greater chance for success because of her. Administrators were challenged to look at their decisions from other perspectives because of her. I will miss Deborah.
I will never forget our frequent talks as faculty administrators at HCC-Central, the frustrations, successes and good times we discussed and shared. Your enthusiasm for all you did will be missed by all who ever knew you, and those who never met you but whose lives you affected.
Deborah has always held a special place in my heart. She began as a colleague and ended up being a friend. She made the worst days better and the good days great. She was a champion of all she considered right. She was a force of nature and passionate about life. She will be missed, but will live on through everryone she taught, in the classroom and out. My condolences go to her family.
It is with great sorrow to have just found out about her passing. She was a delight to have known. My heart is heavy realizing I never will dance in another one of her pieces. But she will live forever in my movement: she inspired me in choreography, in class, in my life, in my spirit.. We will miss you Deborah Quanaim! That bright smile and vivid charisma will be forever at HCC…
From the time i first met Deborah in the deans’ office i was intrigued by her persona. She was the type of person you wanted on your team. Her exceptional leadership was evident in the way she conducted the business of the fine arts department. it was always a pleasure working with her because if you needed anything she would make sure your need was met. Anyone who met Deborah wanted to give her respect because she treated others with respect. Deborah was a bright and beautiful woman and she will always be rembered that way in the hearts and minds of the countless lives she touched. It is with great fondness that I say farewell to special person.
God Bless You Deborah
eric ross
We will miss Deborah so much. She was such a strong, great person.. One of the things I liked the best and respected the most about her was she did not mince words, she did not sugar coat things, but she would be there in a heart beat to give your her support and encouragement when you needed it the most. She was there for me on more occassions than I can count. She is much loved, and will be greatly missed. Our lives are all the better because we knew her.
My deepest condolences to her friends, family, and collegues.
Beth Secor
My condolences to the family and friends of Deborah. She was my teacher and mentor at HCC. I did not start dancing till I was in my second year of college, fall 1997. I met Deborah in her class. Back then, I was known as Ester De Los Santos. She gave me the courage to believe in myself to dance even though I did not have a dancers body or any formal dance training. She told me I was shaped like a pear and it was okay. As long as I danced from the heart, with feeling, that is all that mattered. She believed in me so much that I was able to dance a solo at the “Home for the Holidays: A Festival of the Arts” in the fall of 1997. I kept taking more dance classes to hone my skills in the following semesters. Deborah kept challenging me, and I was able to participate in different dance projects working with different choreographers that came to HCC. She introduced me to Cynthia Cupach who invited me to join her dance group. It was such a boost for me! When I moved on to Texas A&M University, I continued to dance and also joined Fade to Black, a dance group at TAMU. It was a different style for me, but Deborah had bestowed in me the confidence to do anything! I want to say “Thank you, for everything you have given to me and to the lives that you have touched. You will be missed!”
Fondly,
Ester A. Chalmers
I first knew Debbie as Debbie Potts. As an dance undergraduate at Agnes Scott College, she was the student of Kay Osbourn Rose, who happened to be my little sister in college at TWU. After Debbie finished her graduate degree at Mills College, she applied to LSU where I was Chair of the Dance Department. We hired her in a flash.! She was fun, talented, and witty, and we loved dancing and choreographing together. We had a ball ! She taught at LSU in 1968-1969 and was the baby sitter for our two daughters. She would take us to visit her parents in New Orleans where we would enjoy Mardi Gras with her family. Later she taught in California, and in 1975 she helped start the dance department at Booker T. Washington-HSPVA in Dallas where she taught before coming to Houston in 1978. When she arrived n Houston, she taught part-time at Houston’s HSPVA while she was getting the Houston Community College program up and running. HCC shared HSPVA’s dance facilities and faculty members until HSPVA moved to another site in 1982. Through out the years, Debbie remained a trusted and loyal friend. She served on our HSPVA Friends Advisory Board from 1997 until her death. After a 41 year friendship, I will miss her sense of humor, talent, friendship, and laughter more than I can say. Rest in peace, my dear friend. With love, Mary Martha Lappe
Deborah Quanaim was a colleague I respected, her forthrightness, her passion, her knowledge of so many dance idioms and her voluminous dancing were impressive. She knew her limitations and showered you with her strengths, given time and again to serve the dance community and wholeheartedly at that. My dance company participated in the Limon Project and World Dance classes, as I too could see the importance of embracing all parts of our dance community. She made it happen and introduced hundreds of students to dance with her festivals, and her curriculum. Perhaps she wore a chip on her shoulder because the dance community didn’t see her vision, recognize her numerous contributions while quietly persisting in the collegial environment. Our loss, indeed. Her feisty, humorous intellect and loyalty will be missed in the dance field.
Debbie and I were in the dance group at Agnes Scott College until I transferred as a junior to the University of Florida. I’m not sure she would even have remembered me…but I surely did her, with her long legs almost up to her chin! As short as I was, she was as tall and graceful. I have not seen her since Agnes Scott, but have always remembered her. We shared the South in common…her being from Mobile, Al, and my being from a little town in Northwest Florida…Chattahoochee. Sounds like she was a wonderful person and will be missed by many.
It is a great honor to have called Deborah my boss but also a friend. She will always has been a great inspiration to me. She made everyone feel special. I will always remember all those years and memories especially Saturdays at Central. Everyone has touched upon who DQ was. But I still think there are no words to describe this wonderful soul. She will be greatly missed. I have been and still am blessed to have been able to have her part of my life.
Our very sincere condolences to Deborah’s family members. It was a great honor to know and work with Deborah over the years here in Houston. We will truly miss her energy and love of the arts, especially dance. We will always remember Deborah as she was, a great positive force in the dance community.
It was a joy to know Deborah. She and I worked in theatre for several years, she as choreographer and I as stage manager. Later she asked me to teach a World Dance class at Central College, which allowed me to share my love of Breton dance with others. Deborah even entrusted her students to me on occasion.
She respected people’s knowledge and passion, and encouraged us all. Most of all, she was a really good person.
I will miss not being able to discuss the art we both loved.
Deborah was probably the most vital person I have ever encountered. I knew her for 20 years, she was my manager for 4. She could be a madwoman in the cause of anything she determined to be right or necessary. Professionally, I always knew that I could trust her and that she would defend and protect me when needed. Personally, I felt graced by her loving friendship. Her passing will leave an enormous hole in the hearts and lives of those she touched. Godspeed, Deborah.
Deborah will always loom large in our memories as cousins, visiting her family in the Dominican Republic. She grew up to be the kind of young lady she was…graceful, strong and full of vinegar! Pretty much like her Momma, in some ways. We regret that she won’t rejoin her cousins this Fall at the Austin wedding. It was a moment we much looked forward to, as, I know, did she. She will always be Debbie to us, though we were reminded by her that she preferred Deborah. Our best to our cousins and her family.
Love to each of you
Mary and Phil
To all the Family, Freinds, and Colleagues of Deborah,
It is a very tough loss to our HCC Family as Deborah was the Backbone, Heart and Soul of the Fine Arts Division at Central. My Prayers go out to the whole Family and I hope that even though she faced many challenges over the last few years, we can all celebrate her awesome Life because she touched so many lives. Her spirit will definately live on in the hearts of thousands of her students, Family, Friends and extended family. Today the angels are all dancing with Deborah in Heaven as she is in the Company of God. I know it is very sad, but in Heaven they are rejoicing at Deborah’s arrival!!
Warmest Condolences,
Mark Holter
Deborah will always be a source of inspiration to us. Her light will shine on!
Ruben & Luisa Duran