One of the industry’s most talented dancers and choreographers, the 71-year-old Allen previously dished to Parade.com about staying healthy and her work on Grey’s Anatomy. On how she stays heart healthy. “I still dance practically every day. I have over 200 young people that I’m training in the art of dance and they’re studying various techniques with me from ballet to modern to flamenco to tap. I’m staying healthy because I am keeping my heart moving. I’ve been a pacemaker in my own way!” Learn about Risk Factors for Heart Disease On the rise of dance in pop culture. “It’s like a circle. There was a time when there wasn’t a movie that didn’t have a big dance number in it. And then it went down and now it’s back again, so I couldn’t be more thrilled. There’s Dancing With the Stars, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Best Dance Crew and just a lot of really wonderful shows that actually are promoting and paying homage to the art.” On her role as Dr. Avery on Grey’s Anatomy. “That’s been quite a joy. This is my third year directing and now I’m in front of the camera. This was really quite an unexpected and wonderful surprise to be asked to play Dr. Avery. And to do a kind of groundbreaking surgery on the show — the first penile transplant — was so dynamic and so much fun.” On Grey’s behind-the-scenes. “It’s great. I have such a good time on set. As a director, I’ve always had a good time. There are a lot of different personalities to manage, but it’s the director’s task to manage people and get your vision on film and that’s something I’ve been honing for many years. The first day on set, Patrick Dempsey saw me and he jumped out and started jumping around and kicking his legs and starting singing ‘Fame.’ There’s a lot of family going on there. A lot of them are really best friends in real life. It’s just a family over there. They’ve been together for so many years. It’s a show that you can’t really see the end of because of the writing. [Creator] Shonda Rhimes’ lines are just brilliant and her ideas are groundbreaking and they just keep the pulse of that show going.“Photos: Stars Caught Dancing On receiving a Tony nomination in 1980 for her role as Anita in a Broadway revival of West Side Story “I had a great time playing Anita and being directed by the original crew. It was the definitive revival. I auditioned for Leonard Bernstein. I’ve actually had an interesting career that has taken me down the path of history-in-the-making quite a bit: Fame was groundbreaking, A Different World was groundbreaking, being a part of West Side Story. I’ve done a lot of interesting things!” On her next dream project. “The one thing I haven’t done, that I still am very interested in doing, is directing opera. I haven’t directed an opera yet, but I’ve still got time on my clock!”
