Research Catalog
American Negro Ballet Company scrapbook
- Title
- American Negro Ballet Company scrapbook, 1937-1983 (bulk 1937-1938).
- Author
- American Negro Ballet Company.
Available Online
Items in the Library & Off-site
Filter by
1 Item
| Status | Container | Format | Access | Call Number | Item Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Available - Can be used on site. Please visit New York Public Library - Schomburg Center to submit a request in person. | folder 1 | Mixed material | Use in library | Sc MG 519 folder 1 | Schomburg Center - Manuscripts & Archives |
Details
- Description
- 1 folder
- Summary
- The American Negro Ballet Company scrapbook consists of news clippings and programs about the company founded by Eugene van Grona. Included are reviews of its performances in New York City and Brighton, England, in 1937 and 1938; and programs for the ANB and Lew Leslie's "Blackbirds" of 1939, which featured dances choreographed by van Grona. A program and a news clipping refer to performances honoring the company, 1981 and 1983.
- Subjects
- African American dancers
- Grona, Eugene van
- Dance companies > New York (State) > New York
- African American dance > New York (State) > New York
- African Americans in the performing arts > New York (State) > New York
- Dance companies > United States
- Ballet companies > New York (State) > New York
- Dance, Black
- Scrapbooks
- Choreographers > New York (State) > New York
- Black author
- Ballet dancers > New York (State) > New York
- American Negro Ballet Company
- Genre/Form
- Scrapbooks.
- Note
- Photographs transferred to Photographs and Prints Division.
- Source (note)
- Beryl Clarke James
- Biography (note)
- The American Negro Ballet Company was formed by Eugene van Grona in 1937. Van Grona, a modern dancer trained by German choreographer Mary Wigman, immigrated to the United States in 1925. He formed the ANB, composed of thirty African-American dancers, among them Lavinia Williams and Al Bledger, to showcase their talents as serious dance artists capable of more than jazz dancing.
- The American Negro Ballet Company debuted at Harlem's Lafayette Theater on November 21, 1937. The company's original program, conducted by Dean Dixon, included Stravinsky's "Firebird" as well as pieces choreographed by van Grona to the music of Duke Ellington and W. C. Handy. The premier was a critical and popular success however, the ANB Company survived for barely a year before its demise in 1938. Van Grona re-formed the company as "Von Grona's American Swing Ballet" in 1939, when they appeared in producer Lew Leslie's "Blackbirds," as well as other venues.
- Call Number
- Sc MG 519
- OCLC
- 186496948
- Author
- American Negro Ballet Company.
- Title
- American Negro Ballet Company scrapbook, 1937-1983 (bulk 1937-1938).
- Biography
- The American Negro Ballet Company was formed by Eugene van Grona in 1937. Van Grona, a modern dancer trained by German choreographer Mary Wigman, immigrated to the United States in 1925. He formed the ANB, composed of thirty African-American dancers, among them Lavinia Williams and Al Bledger, to showcase their talents as serious dance artists capable of more than jazz dancing.The American Negro Ballet Company debuted at Harlem's Lafayette Theater on November 21, 1937. The company's original program, conducted by Dean Dixon, included Stravinsky's "Firebird" as well as pieces choreographed by van Grona to the music of Duke Ellington and W. C. Handy. The premier was a critical and popular success however, the ANB Company survived for barely a year before its demise in 1938. Van Grona re-formed the company as "Von Grona's American Swing Ballet" in 1939, when they appeared in producer Lew Leslie's "Blackbirds," as well as other venues.
- Connect to:
- Local Subject
- Black author.
- Research Call Number
- Sc MG 519