Philadanco’s Brown spends her blood and money to run her renowned dance company

In a world where dance companies invariably struggle for dollars, Brown has kept her troupe going for 47 years. A resident company of the Kimmel Center, her group has received a steady stream of accolades, forging a reputation as one of the nation’s leading modern-dance companies.

Often, though, the kudos haven’t been enough. To make ends meet, Brown has lent the company hundreds of thousands of dollars of her personal money. The company’s 2014-15 tax return lists a $718,391 loan from Brown, an indication of how Brown stepped in when corporate and foundation gifts dried up.

“When they don’t save me, I save myself,” said Brown, indomitable at age 85.

For all these reasons and more, Brown has been chosen as a member of the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Business Hall of Fame in recognition of her professional achievements. “She’s a national icon,” said Brenda Dixon Gottschild, author of Joan Myers Brown & the Audacious Hope of the Black Ballerina. “She has really fostered a unique aesthetic that I see as very particular to this incredible city that we live in.”

The waiting room of Brown’s West Philly studio — on Philadanco Way — is stuffed with such accolades: Three honorary doctorates, a Master of African American Choreography medal from the Kennedy Center, and the 2012 National Medal of Arts, a commanding piece of hardware on a purple ribbon given by…

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