The American Negro Ballet Company, also known as the von Grona Ballet,
[ 1937: American Negro Ballet gives its debut performance.]
MoBBallet.org. was formed in 1934 under the auspices of
Eugene Von Grona, a German dancer and choreographer, who was fascinated by Black culture and dance.
[ The company performed classical ballet pieces, as well as modern dance works.][From Ballet to Broadway and Black and Von Grona’s Swing Ballet. MoBB.org. https://mobballet.org/index.php/2023/02/03/from-ballet-to-broadway-and-black-orbit-von-gronas-swing-ballet/]
History
Performances
The American Negro Ballet had its debut performance at the Lafayette Theatre on November 21, 1937.Dean Dixon
Charles Dean Dixon (January 10, 1915November 3, 1976) was an American conductor.
Career
Dixon was born in the upper-Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem in New York City to parents who had earlier migrated from the Caribbean. He studied conducting ...
conducted[Music: Black, Black. TIME (magazine). November 29, 1937. https://time.com/archive/6757753/music-black-black/]
The dancers performed to ''Bacchanalian Children of the Earth'' (music by Reginald Foresythe
Reginald Foresythe (28 May 1907 – 28 December 1958) was a British jazz pianist, arranger, composer, and bandleader.
Early life
Foresythe was born and died in London. His father was a West African barrister of Sierra Leone Creole descent and ...
),[ ''St. Louis Women'' (music by ]W. C. Handy
William Christopher Handy (November 16, 1873 – March 28, 1958) was an American composer and musician who referred to himself as the Father of the Blues. He was one of the most influential songwriters in the United States. One of many musician ...
),[ ]Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
’s Firebird Suite[ (music by phonograph),][ and to the music of ]Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life.
Born and raised in Washington, D ...
.[
After its debut, the company performed in Brighton, England, in 1938.][American Negro Ballet Company scrapbook, Sc MG 519, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library. https://archives.nypl.org/scm/20924]
Company disbandment and reformation
The American Negro Ballet had a brief tenure, disbanding in 1938.[ The following year, the company reformed as "Von Grona's American Negro Ballet."][Lew Leslie's Blackbirds of 1939. Playbill. See "Act I Introducing Von Grona's Negro Swing Ballet" and the cast of dancers. https://playbill.com/production/lew-leslies-blackbirds-of-1939-hudson-theatre-vault-0000005872#carousel-cell173668] Many members of the original American Negro Ballet joined Von Grona's group and were featured dancers in ''Lew Leslie
Lew Leslie (born Lewis Lessinsky; April 15, 1888 – March 10, 1963) was a American Jews, Jewish American writer and producer of Broadway theatre, Broadway shows. Leslie got his start in show business in vaudeville in his early twenties. Al ...
’s Blackbird of 1939'', an all-black production starring Lena Horne
Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre.
Horne joined the chorus of the C ...
and choreography by Von Grona.[Lew Leslie’s Blackbird of 1939 - Current Cast. Playbill. https://playbill.com/personlistpage/person-list?production=00000150-aea3-d936-a7fd-eef7ea460001&type=cp#cc]
In addition, several original members of the American Negro Ballet performed with the Negro Symphony Orchestra in 1939,[
and in ]Agnes de Mille
Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer.
Early years
Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...
’s ''Black Ritual (Obeah)'', which had its 1940 world premiere as part of Ballet Theatre’s inaugural season.
[Black Ritual (Obeah). World Premiere. The Center Theatre, New York. Repertory Archive. American Ballet Theatre (ABT). Note: The ABT website lists the program on “January 22, 1940,” https://www.abt.org/ballet/black-ritual-obeah/ and the actual program lists the performance date as “Thursday Evening, February 1, 1940.” see Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1940). Program for Black Ritual (Obeah), The Center Theatre.]
DeMille's work was specifically designed for black and brown ballerinas
A ballet dancer is a person who practices the art of classical ballet. Both females and males can practice ballet. They rely on years of extensive training and proper technique to become a part of a professional ballet company. Ballet dancers ...
.[Maher, Erin K. "Ballet, Race, and Agnes de Mille's Black Ritual." The Musical Quarterly 97.3 (2014): 390-428. https://doi.org/10.1093/musqtl/gdu009]
Company members
The American Negro Ballet was originally composed of twenty[ to thirty ]jazz dance
Jazz Dance is a performance dance and style that arose in the United States in the early 20th century. Jazz Dance may allude to vernacular Jazz, Broadway or dramatic Jazz. The two types expand on African American vernacular styles of dance that ...
rs who were recruited to perform in a modern dance concert.Lavinia Williams
Lavinia Williams (July 2, 1916 – July 19, 1989), who sometimes went by the married name Lavinia Williams Yarborough, was an American dancer and dance educator who founded national schools of dance in several Caribbean countries.
Biography
Gra ...
, Al Bledger,[Morris, Gay. Moving Words: Re-writing Dance. Psychology Press, 1996. p. 111]
Google Books
Retrieved July 4, 2011. Coleman Hill, Harry Young,[Dancers of the American Negro Ballet Company rehearse a few days before the premiere at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem: from left to right Harry Young, Col(e)man Hill and Alfred Bledger. Alamy. https://www.alamy.com/dancers-of-the-american-negro-ballet-company-rehearse-a-few-days-before-the-premiere-at-the-lafayette-theatre-in-harlem-from-left-to-right-harry-young-colman-hill-and-alfred-bledger-image385783957.html] and Beryl James, who danced in the group's production of Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...
's "Firebird."[James, Beryl Theodore Clarke. Alpha Kappa Alpha. Pioneering Members. https://akapioneers.aka1908.com/index.php/component/mtree/vocations/arts-1/dance/1872-james-beryl-theodore-clarke?Itemid=
]
References
See also
* Dance Theatre of Harlem
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...
* Janet Collins
Janet Collins, OblSB (March 7, 1917 – May 28, 2003) was an African American prima ballerina, choreographer, and teacher. She performed on Broadway, in films, and appeared frequently on television. She was among the pioneers of black ballet dan ...
* Misty Copeland
Misty Danielle Copeland (born September 10, 1982) is an American ballet dancer for American Ballet Theatre (ABT), one of the three leading classical ballet companies in the United States. On June 30, 2015, Copeland became the first African Americ ...
* Virginia Johnson
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Ballet companies in the United States
Dance companies in New York City
African-American dance
African-American theatre
African-American cultural history
1934 establishments in New York City
Performing groups established in 1934
1938 disestablishments in New York (state)