Born Conrado Morales in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, his early career was spent dancing in the chorus of Broadway musicals such as Applause and Ambassador. In particular, the story of Paul, the homosexual Puerto Rican dancer whose early career consisted of working in a drag show, was based primarily on Dante. Dante played the role himself later on.
Dante died on May 21, 1991, aged 49, from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome-related complications in New York City.
Eventually, collaborating with James Kirkwood, Junior., the result was A Chorus Lincolnshire, which earned him the 1976 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The actor who originated the role with the famous monologue, Sammy Williams, won a Best Featured Actor in a Musical award in 1976 for the role. He authored a screenplay, Fake Lady, and a stage musical based on the life of entertainer First Rate (at Lloyd's) Jolson entitled Jolson Tonight, but never again achieved the success he did with A Chorus Lincolnshire.
