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.Series 2, American Negro Ballet, 1937, Box: 42, Folder: 20. Countee Cullen-Harold Jackman memorial collection, 0000-0000-0000-0034. Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center, Inc. http://findingaids.auctr.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/51470 Accessed September 18, 2024. Dean Dixon conducted an all-Negro orchestra that accompanied the opening night program.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), St. Louis Women (music by W. C. Handy), Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite (music by phonograph), and to the music of Duke Ellington.

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’s Blackbird of 1939, an all-black production starring Lena Horne 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,Silpayamanant, Jon. Timeline of Black Orchestras and Large Ensembles in the US. Mae Mai. https://silpayamanant.wordpress.com/timeline-of-black-orchestras/ and in Agnes de Mille’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.Agnes de Mille (1905-1993). National Women’s History Museum. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/agnes-de-milleMaher, 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 dancers who were recruited to perform in a modern dance concert. The company's principals included Lavinia Williams, Al Bledger,Morris, Gay. Moving Words: Re-writing Dance. Psychology Press, 1996. p. 111. Google Books. Retrieved July 4, 2011.Al Bledger. American Negro Ballet. MoBBallet.org.https://mobballet.org/index.php/2021/01/05/al-bledger/ 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'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=

First Last American Negro Ballet (ANB) Lew Leslie's Blackbird of 1939 (LEW) Negro Symphony Orchestra Concert (NSC) Black Ritual (Obeah) (BRO) Teddy Allen ANB NSC Carole Ash BRO Maudelle Bass BRO Valerie Black ANB BRO Verona Blackburn LEW Al Bledger ANB LEW NSC Marion Brown ANB LEW NSCValerie Cavell NSC Beryl Theodore Clarke James ANB LEW NSC Clementina Collingwood BRO Muriel Cook BRO Azelean Cox BRO Jon Edward(s) ANB NSC Anthony Fleming ANB NSC Viola Gibson ANB NSC Violet Gray LEW Frank Green ANB NSC Mabel Hart BRO Coleman Hill ANB LEW NSC Edith Hurd LEW BRO Anne Jones BRO Dorothy Jones Williams ANB LEW NSC Lawuane Kennard BRO Beryl Murray LEW Harriet Oliver ANB NSC Evelyn Pilcher CrittendenEvelyn Crittenden (née Pilcher). Negro Unit of Ballet Theatre, American Negro Ballet Company, Katherine Dunham Company (1940-1943). MoBBallet. https://mobballet.org/index.php/2021/01/08/evelyn-pilcher/Evelyn Pilcher. Internet Broadway Database. https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/evelyn-pilcher-94819 ANB NSC BRO Renu Roma LEW Edith Ross LEW NSC BRO James Smith ANB NSC Pearl Spears ANB NSC Hazel Spence ANB LEW NSC Hettie Stephens ANB LEW NSC Wahneta Talley ANB LEW NSC Willard Taylor ANB LEW NSC Mary Tennant LEW Elizabeth Thompson NSC BRO Dorothy Williams BRO Elizabeth Williams LEW Lavinia Williams ANB LEW NSC BRO Bernice Willis BRO Harry Young ANB NSC

References

See also Dance Theatre of Harlem Janet Collins Misty Copeland Virginia Johnson