American Negro Ballet Company

Photograph of lead dancer Al Bledger, 1938

The American Negro Ballet Company formed in 1934 under the auspices of Eugene Von Grona, a German immigrant. Originally composed of thirty African-American jazz dancers, the company focused on serious modern dance. Lavinia Williams and Al Bledger were lead dancers.^[1]

Debut

The poorly reviewed debut performance on November 21, 1937, was conducted by Dean Dixon. It was held at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, New York.^[2] Von Grona was the main choreographer for pieces by Igor Stravinsky, Duke Ellington and W. C. Handy, among others.^[1]

Failure and reformation

The company only lasted five months until 1938. In 1939 the company was reborn as "Von Grona's American Swing Ballet".^[1]

References

1 2 3 p.111 Moving Words: Re-writing Dance by Gay Morris, Psychology Press, 1996 Google Books retrieved July 4, 2011
↑ Martin, John (November 22, 1937). "NEGRO BALLET HAS DEBUT IN HARLEM: Company Directed by Eugene von Grona in a Program of His Compositions". New York Times. p. 15. Retrieved July 4, 2011.

African-American dance
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater American Negro Ballet Company Buck dance Cakewalk Chicago stepping Dancing for eels Get down Hip-hop dance Breakdancing Locking Popping Juba dance Lindy Hop Set de flo' Slow drag Stepping Stick dance Swing Tap dance Vogue

Dance companies in the United States
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Contemporary	Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater AXIS Dance Company Ballet Deviare Ballet Hispanico Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Dominic Walsh Hubbard Street Lar Lubovitch Martha Graham Momix Paul Taylor The Philadelphia Dance Company Pilobolus Ririe-Woodbury sjDANCEco Urban Bush Women Whim W'Him
Other	Chicago Dance Crash Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater Ice Theatre of New York The LXD The Rockettes

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