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TERRY, TERLENE DARCELL

A SURVEY OF BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON, 1870-1945

The American University M.A. 1982

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University Microfilms International

A SURVEY OF BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON

1870-1945

by

Terlene D. Terry

submitted to the

Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences

of The American University

in Partial Fulfillment of

The Requirements for the Degree

of

Master of Arts

in

Dance

Signature p£ Committee ;

Chairman"

V . / ..r /tA_ \ _ y/ ,L-L. u Dean of College

Date

1982

The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 {/p\d(3

the m e r i c a m university library A SURVEY OF BLACK DANCE

IN WASHINGTON

1870-1945

by

Terlene Terry

ABSTRACT

Black dance has been an important part in the cultural spirit of Washington, D.C. The activities of black Washington choreographers, dancers and teachers from

18 70 to 1945 have never been documented. This study has compiled and analyzed the contributions of black dancers to the cultural life of Washington during this period.

All evidence of dance by blacks in Washington prior to 1945 were examined and placed in chronological order. The information vital to this study was acquired through several sources; black newspapers and periodicals, census records, personal interviews, special library collections, books on black history, music, dance and Washington history.

This study produced several major developments tracing black dance: a black dance instructor as early as 1883, the

influence of the "cakewalk," the Howard Theatre, Howard Univer­

sity and black pioneers of classical ballet training.

ii This study has sought to provide the foundation of black dance in Washington prior to 1945.

Ill ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research has been dedicated in the memory of my Dad, Henry L. Patterson.

It is also dedicated to all those, too numerous to name, who supported and believed in me during this re­ search. Your words of inspiration, small acts of kindness and good humor helped keep the flame of wisdom bright when

I was ready to succumb to frustration and fatigue.

To Shirley E. Patterson, my mother, and Naima

Prevots, my advisor, words cannot express my deepest appre­ ciation for everything done.

And finally, I give the greatest credit to the

Lord above for making it all possible.

IV TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION...... 1

Chapter

I. BLACK LIFE IN WASHINGTON: 1800-1899 ...... 2

II. BLACK LIFE IN WASHINGTON: 1900-1945...... 15

III. MINSTREL AND VAUDEVILLE SHOWS IN WASHINGTON: 1865-1900 ...... 23

IV. BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON; 1883-1928 ...... 33

V. BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON; 1928-1945 ...... 52

VI. MAJOR CURRENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON: 18 70-1945 ...... 85

APPENDICES

1. Black Theatres, Playhouses and Dance Halls in Washington from 1900 through 1945 ...... 89

2. A List of Negro Recreational Facilities of the District of Columbia in 1940...... 93

3. A Select Listing of Black Dancers Who Appeared at the Howard Theatre from 1940 to 1945.... 96

4. Doris N. Patterson School of Dance, 1945. . . . 98

BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 101

V INTRODUCTION

Before the contributions of black dancers, teachers and choreographers can be traced, the writer must first present an overview of black life in the city of Washington,

D.C. By giving an overview of black life in the District of Columbia between 1800 and 1945, this writer hopes to give the background which sets the stage for the work of

the black dancers. As the city changed over these years,

so did the accomplishments of the blacks and more notably,

the black dancers. CHAPTER I

BLACK LIFE IN WASHINGTON

1800-1899 BLACK LIFE IN WASHINGTON

1800-1899

In 17 90, the State of Maryland offered territory to be used as the seat of government for the United States.

The first Congress agreed to accept the land, located near the Potomac River.^ In 18 00, the Federal District was called Washington and was adjacent to a separate community called Georgetown. Although Washington was considered the capital city, it was governed by the laws of Maryland and

Virginia until Congress established laws for the city.

This first year of the "official seat of government" found the black population to comprise 23.5 percent of the total.

Of this percentage, 7 83 were considered "free negroes" and

3,244 were slaves, making a total black residency of 4,027.^

One white District resident categorized the population of the city into four groups: "the better sort, those who keep Congress boarders and their mutual friends, the sub­ ordinate officers of the government, the laboring class and free negroes."^

'^Letitia Woods Brown, Free Negroes in the District of Columbia, 1790-1846 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1972), pp. 2-8.

^Ibid., pp. 9-13.

^Ibid., p . 129. 4

Generally the white population of Washington feared

the black residents, even those who were considered free.

The free blacks experienced blatent antagonism along with

outbursts of violent prejudices. They were always made to

feel contained and restricted.** There were several ways to

become a "free negro" during the beginning of the nineteenth

century in Washington. Manumission, purchase, or through

the "efforts of other blacks"® were some of the most common.

Manumission occurred when the owner agreed to relinquish any

binds or restraints on a slave, thereby making him a "freed man." Easy as it may sound, it was the least likely to

occur. Sometimes slaves could be manumitted when the slave

holder died and it was so stated in his will. Most blacks

preferred to purchase their freedom from white owners. Prices

for freedom could start as low as four hundred dollars and go

as high as fifteen hundred dollars, depending on how much the

owner felt the slave was worth. These prices sometimes in­

cluded children and older adults at cheaper rates.

The working white population in the District

primarily held jobs in boardinghouses as hotel personnel,

retail and service workers, construction and maintenance workers of all varieites. Since the working force in these

jobs was scarce, the qualified worker was well received.

** Ibid . , p . 15 .

®Mercedia V. Gass, Blacks in Washington, D.C., 1800-1865 (Washington, D.C.: Howard University, 1975), p. 18. 5

The white employers had mixed attitudes about slave labor.

Some wanted it and others did not. As a result, a free black could secure a job if he was capable.® The Navy

Yard and Army Arsenal were the major centers of employment for blacks. Most of the free women worked as hairdressers and domestics.^ Free black men worked as government or banking messengers, bricklayers, carpenters, hackmen, livery-stable hands, cooks, blacksmiths, shoemakers, tailors and barbers.®

A few free blacks owned property. Most blacks during the early 1800s lived in horse stables, shanties and converted carriage houses located in the rear of "respect­ able white homes."® There was no running water or sewage available to blacks and only one fire hydrant per block.

The hydrant provided water to everyone who lived on the b l o c k .^ ®

A small group of influential free blacks held pro­ fessional positions. This group was composed of ministers, teachers and physicians. Free blacks felt education was very important and established a school as early as 1807.

®Brown, Free Negroes, pp. 129-30.

^Gass, Blacks in D . C ., p. 28.

®I b i d .

®Ibi d ., p. 29.

Provine, The Free Negro in the District of Columbia, 1800-1860, p. 114. 6

Three exslaves were responsible for this early school. “

It operated for a brief time and eventually closed. It was

later reorganized by the Resolute Beneficial Society in

1828. Several church-run schools were in operation for blacks during the early and mid-1800s in the District of

Columbia.

As for the slaves in the District, theirs was a different plight. Slaves were located near other slaves and free blacks. This proved to be advantageous for slaves

and enabled them to communicate with free blacks. Slave quarters were situated on the same lot as their owner's.

Slave quarters were described as:

long and narrow, usually consisting of two levels. The second floor contained the bed­ rooms. The rooms were small with no windows. There was not much furniture in the home; slaves often slept on the floor.

City slaves ate and dressed better than slaves on the

plantations. "They often had Sunday clothes and everyday

clothes. Most slaves were domestics and were given decent

clothes to wear."^^ White owners did not want "shabby"

servants around the house. They considered this a reflec­

tion upon their own care and taste.

In between the status of free blacks and slaves was that of the indentured servants and apprentices.

“ Gass, Blacks in D.C. , p. 24.

Ibid. , p . 15 .

Ibid. , p. 17 . 7

"Indentured servants had to serve for a certain period of time, not for life. The law required that the master pro­ vide for the servant when his period of servitude had expired."^** Upon their departure the men were given a full suit of clothes and shoes, an ax, a hoe, and a gun.

The women were given a petticoat, shoes, stockings, an apron, and three barrels of corn. “

"Through the years of the original District, a curfew was imposed for negroes. The Act of 1827 prohibited negroes from going at large later than 10 o'clock at night.

Although the free black made strides towards developing successful economic enterprises, laws continued to be passed to block their progress. In 1831 the Washington Corpora­ tion Council passed a law requiring a tax on licenses to sell hardware, medicines, perfumes and jewelry. Free blacks could only receive licenses to drive carts, drays or wagons.

Politically, free blacks were prohibited from holding office, voting, testifying against white people, serving on juries and carrying arms.

Blacks were permitted to attend church. The first black organized church in Washington was Mt. Zion Methodist.

It was located in Georgetown. The church offered the slaves an opportunity to meet other negroes without having to obtain special permission from their masters. The black

Ibid., p. 19.

I bid., p. 19 .

Brown, Free Negroes, p. 140 8 churches were the center of black social as well as reli­ gious life. The church held activities during the week which allowed the slaves freedom from their masters for a few hours. However, all activities had to end by the designated curfew. There were two days when the curfew was lifted. "Blacks were allowed out after ten on New

Year's Eve, so they could attend the watch-night services at the church.The other holiday was Christmas Eve.

One white citizen described the holiday celebration by the black community during the early 1800s:

Ordinarily they were not allowed on the streets after the town bell rang at nine o'clock at night, but at Christmas this restriction was removed and as midnight approached bands of them would go through the streets singing hymns and carols before houses of their white friends. The following morning the leader of the band would call at the house and receive a token of appreciation in the way of a small coin. "

Church activities included weddings, suppers, and cotillions.

They also sponsored concerts of sacred music regularly and church camp meetings.

Class distinction within the black community devel­ oped early. Blacks without any church affiliation had little recognition in the community.

Well before 1840 all negroes in Washington were using the prefix Mr. or Mrs. in speaking of their most respected fellows, the ministers and

17 Gass, Blacks in D . C ., p. 34.

^®Wm. A. Gordon, "Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetown," Columbia Historical Society, vol. 20, p. 12 3. teachers above all. The rest remained Tom and Sam or Mary and Sally. The appellation 'Brother' or 'Sis' was reserved for members of the same church as a mark of Christian fellowship."

In the black community black skin was not considered an obstacle to social status, but having a light complexion, a sign of mixture of white blood, was definitely considered an asset.

Blacks were allowed to engage in a variety of re­ creational activities during the early and mid-1800s. They could go fishing and swimming in the river, hunting in near­ by woods, attend circuses and go to the President's lawn to watch the bears that were brought in from the Rocky Mountains.

Blacks could attend stage productions at the theatres but had special seats. The "box or gallery seats" were usually twenty-five cents except at the National Theatre, where they were fifty cents. One of the most popular means of recrea­ tion was to have dances in their homes. (This aspect will be discussed in greater detail later in the study.) How­ ever, they had to secure a license for any activity held in their homes, including meetings. On the first of May all blacks declared a holiday and paraded through the streets.

A white resident recollected the spring celebration as follows

On the 1st of May all of them had holiday and paraded the streets with vehicles and horses adorned with bright-colored papers, ribbons

“ Constance McLaughlin Green, The Secret City (Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press, 1967), p. 40, 10

and flowers; the drivers in their best with long aprons, decorated with hugh brilliantly colored rosettes. Headed by a band, they would march over the town and then go to some neighbor­ ing wood to pass the day in feasting, dancing and singing. °

By 1850 slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia. This was a direct result of the Compromise of

1850. Consisting of five laws, the Compromise held two laws that directly affected the District's black residents. The

Fugitive Slave Law was probably feared the most by blacks.

According to the Fugitive Slave Law, "free blacks could be sold back into slavery, while slaves who belonged in the

District could be recaptured and taken to plantations in the Deep South where opportunities for freedom were few."

The other law, however, forbade the "importation of slaves into the District.This meant that any slave entering the

District as "merchandise" after January 1, 1851, became a free black. Pandemonium erupted within the black community in

1857 following the decision in the Dred Scott case. The decree declared that "persons of African descent were not and could never be American citizens."^® It became apparent that even with the repeal of slavery throughout the nation, the Afro-American could not be guaranteed a place in American society. But this did not hamper the slow, but steady.

Gordon, "Recollections," CHS, p. 124.

Gass, Blacks in D.C., pp. 7-8.

“ Ibid.

Green, Secret City, p. 50. 11 struggle in the District of Columbia's black community for self-respect.

In 1862 the 3,100 slaves belonging to Washington citizens were freed. The municipal black codes were repealed, resulting in new opportunities for the enterprising black.

Blacks were now able to enter any type of business and a few began to acquire custodial jobs in the federal govern­ ment.^** The curfew was abolished and blacks could come and go as they pleased.

As the status of blacks in the District improved, they became increasingly more aware of education. This con­ tinued awareness resulted in the first public school for blacks, which opened in the basement of a church on March 16,

1862.^® The original teachers of the first black public school were paid an annual fee of $40Q. Volunteer teachers taught night sessions of the black public schools. In 1865 the first public schoolhouse for blacks was built on a lot between 2nd and 3rd Street East, adjacent to C Street South.

It was described as "a frame building, with two rooms on each floor." The schools were ungraded and two or three teachers often taught class at the same time in the same room.

^** Ibid. , p. 59 .

Gass, Blacks in D.C., p. 26.

2G Report of the Board of Trustees of the Schools of the Colored Children of Washington and Georgetown {Washington, D.C.: Judd and Detweiter, 1870), p. 5. 12

Discrimination based on status still existed in the black community at this time. In 18 6 3 an organization called the Lotus Club was initiated by a small group of black men.

Reportedly, only the "leading negroes" of the community could belong. The founders intended the Lotus Club to set a "standard of civilized behavior," but somehow they managed only to encourage snobbishness by its exclusiveness.^’

In 1867 Howard University was established with assistance from the Freedman Bureau. The University Charter described it as "a university for the education of youth in the liberal arts and sciences." The institution, which bore the name of General Oliver O. Howard, Commissioner of the

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandon Lands, was developed with the sole purpose of providing educational opportunities for freed men. There was to be no discrimination in the admission of students based on sex or race. The black families of the city immediately seized the opportunities offered at Howard University.’®

By the end of 1867, blacks could sit where they pleased when they rode horse cars, a few black men began filling government clerkships, while others started their own businesses; several blacks were buying their own homes; tax-supported colored schools multiplied; a university education was a reality for the ambitious student; and

27 Green, Secret City, p. 65.

’® Brown, Washington in the New Era, 1870-1970 (Washington, D.cTl National Portrait Gallery, 1972), pp. 25-6. 13

"manhood suffrage in local elections gave the adult negro community a voice in municipal affairs which promised to ensure further social and economic progress."’® In June

1868, a municipal election placed blacks in office for the first time. During this year also the city council passed legislation prohibiting "public amusement or other licensed entertainment" to discriminate on the basis of race or color. As a consequence, many white citizens were not enthusiastic about their black counterparts achieving addi­ tional equal rights. Another law had to be passed by the city council in 1870 prohibiting discrimination in taverns and saloons, and requiring owners to serve "any quiet person."® ®

By 18 7 3 new legislation had to be passed in the

District to require prices to be posted. This was to dis­ courage the tactics used by whites who were charging "$30 haircuts, $1 cups of coffee and $3 ice cream" to its black patrons."®^ Unpleasant seating, long delays in service, out­ rageous prices were just a few of the actions used to dis­ courage blacks.

Older black families continued to hold the more recognized positions in the black community during the later decades. For the remainder of the nineteenth century, money.

Green, Secret City, p. 89.

Brown, Washington, 1870-1970, p. 4.

31 Ibid, p. 5. 14 education and professional status were paramount, as well as honesty, character, and ambitiousness.®’ Educated blacks in step with city life continued to obtain government clerk­ ships and teaching positions in the public schools. A few were doctors, lawyers, or ministers; others had businesses with two or three employees; still others maintained employ­ ment as dressmakers, barbers, and drivers.®® Black pro­ fessors joined the staff of Howard University and black congressmen took seats in the House of Representatives. The two leading black newspapers. The Washington Bee and the

New National Era, kept the black residents informed. Re­ creation for blacks flourished during the later decades of the 1800s. "A variety of choirs and clubs developed through which the community expressed a wide range of taste."®** The cultural efforts of blacks saw the formation in 1872 of the

Colored Opera Company with Jon Esputa as musical director.®®

Esputa's opera company presented several programs with its most notable being the Doctor of Alcantra. It was first presented at the Lincoln Hall and received rave reviews.

Vaudeville and minstrel shows frequented the city and played the negro theatre houses.®®

®’Green, Secret City, p. 98.

®® Ibi d . , p. 91.

®** Brown, Washington, 1870-1970, p. 24

®® Ibid.

®® This aspect will be discussed in greater depth in later chapters of this study. CHAPTER II

BLACK LIFE IN WASHINGTON

1900-1945 BLACK LIFE IN WASHINGTON

1900-1945

In the first decades of the twentieth century the blacks in the District of Columbia found they had made some gains in their status, but there had been losses as well.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People was founded in 1910 as an answer to the ever present race problems that plagued the United States, as well as the Capital City. Outbreaks of riots, lynchings, and burn­ ings of homes across the United States were constant re­ minders to blacks in Washington that civil rights for all had a long way to go. Conditions for blacks in D.C. were better than those in the southern states, but still remained unsatisfactory.

By World War I there was a mass migration of blacks to Washington from the south and mid-west. This influx of population brought with it poverty, disease, ignorance and unemployment. As a result, "alley dwellers" became a fixed, but unwanted, part of the black community.The health situation became very serious for the entire city. Many

3?G.E. Haynes, The American Negro: In Detroit and Washington {New York; Arno Press, 1969), p. 96.

16 17 cases of tuberculosis were reported with over half of them black. There was only one public black hospital, Freedman's, to handle the majority of cases. There were also several small private hospitals run by leading black doctors in the city to help with the widespread disease. As a result, crime rose in the areas of the community where alley dwellers and disease were planted.

In 1919 Washington erupted into several days of race riots. The immediate cause for these riots stemmed from the sensationalism of several newspaper accounts of blacks being cited as the main cause for the "excessive amounts of lawlessness"^^ in the capital city. The accusa­ tions were capped with alleged attacks by black men on white women. Because of these reports, gangs of sailors, marines, and soldiers in neighboring stations decided "to take things in their own hands and attempted to teach the negroes their place. The riot lasted several days, with black men being chased and harassed by white men, and retaliating as they were attacked. Finally, the military forces were sent in to bring order to the city.

By 1920 the black population in the Federal City

Ibid.

39 William H . Jones, Housing of Negroes in D.C. (Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1929), p. 60

“o Ib i d .

"3 Ibid. 18

had grown to over 100,000.**^ The employment possibilities for blacks had also expanded. Blacks were now being employed in public service, the building industry, wholesale and re­ tail trade, professional services, railway work and trans­ portation. Education for the Washington black had certainly improved. By 1935 there were three black senior high schools, two vocational schools, six junior high schools, and nearly forty elementary schools. Black teachers were now receiving salaries parallel to their white counterparts. Howard

University, now known as the "capstone of negro education,"**'* was headed by a black for the first time. Black civic leaders began to emerge in the community with messages of continued progress and the necessity to struggle for civil r i g h t s .

Despite all of these gains for blacks in Washington, there were few, if any, "avenues where white and colored

people could casually meet as human b e i n g s . "**9 The vast majority of white residents in the city were very aware of public opinion. This awareness brought on fear and suspicious attitudes towards blacks. Whites believed that "if living among negroes is going to affect their standing in white society, they will under no circumstances remain in communities

**^ "Secret City," The Crisis, vol. 39, June 1932, p. 185.

**3 Haynes, American Negro, p. 97.

**** Ib i d ., p. 98.

**3 "The Secret City," p. 187. 19 and neighborhoods with them." **9 This attitude continued to perpetuate a distinct color line between whites and blacks, although a few blacks were invited to attend the President's

New Year's Reception and black youngsters could go hunt

Easter Eggs at the annual Easter Hunt on the White House lawn.When blacks moved into certain white neighborhoods, the white residents immediately moved elsewhere.

During the 1920s and 1930s, churches in the black community continued to be the social as well as religious center of activity. Black Washingtonian William H. Jones described the black churches of the day as ;

...center of information for the community, functions as newspaper. It is a place to see friends, hear the neighborhood gossip, meet strangers, carry on flirtations and courtship. It encourages musical and dramatic performances. It is the center of organized hedonistic activi­ ties: social gatherings, suppers, picnics and entertainment of all kinds take place in the church or are sponsored by it. **9

However, as the 1930s and 1940s approached, the black church lost some ground. This was attributed to the "general de­ cline of religion resulting from the development of science, " ‘*9 increased education and direct competition of recreational activities sponsored by other groups and agencies.

^9 Jones, Housing of Negroes, p. 75.

"The Secret City," p. 186.

**9 William H. Jones, Recreation and Amusement Among Negroes in D.C. (Westport, Ct: Negro Universities Press, 1927, p. 67.

**9 Ibid. 20

As far as other means of socializing and leisure activities were concerned, blacks in Washington had several new outlets other than the church. From the 1920s on, the black community had acquired separate recreational facilities.

"Six of the twenty-five grounds supported and supervised by the city government were for negroes," according to one report, "and located in negro neighborhoods."9“ Blacks had only one swimming pool accessible to them and one golf course. Black social centers sprang up around the city providing a variety of social activities and services for black youth. The most popular of these were the Phyliss

Wheatly Y.W.C.A. located on Rhode Island Avenue, N.W. The

Y.W.C.A. served as a starting point for several black dance instructors in the city.^i Music, literary clubs and athletic events were some of the activities offered to the black res­ idents by the Phyliss Wheatly Y.W.C.A.

A number of theatres, playhouses, and dance halls for the black residents sprang up between 1900 and 1945.

The theatres and playhouses usually carried entertainment that appealed to both blacks and whites. As a consequence, this meant that blacks were seated in special seats in the gallery where it was difficult to see or hear. The popular

Howard Theatre, which was owned by the New York Theatre

99 Ibid. , p. 37.

93 This aspect will be discussed in greater detail later in this study. 21

Corporation, was managed by blacks. It featured black

musicals and s i n g e r s . 9% The dance halls were considered

"hedonistic" by some and were well attended by nearly everyone. 9^

This period of the twentieth century also saw the heyday of the "inner social organizations of the colored people. "9“* Many social and civic clubs were organized and caused more dissention among blacks than unification. Each one sought to project exclusiveness and social status and they were known for their grand parties. The 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s saw the establishment of the Oldest Inhabitants

Association of at least four hundred black residents "who were either born in the city or have lived there thirty- five years."95 There were the Bachelor Benedicts and the

Mu-So-Lit Clubs for the older established black citizens.

The younger set of black Washingtonians had their own social clubs, sororities and fraternities.

Black cultural activities flourished with dance schools, the Little Theatre Movement and nationally known artists. A few Washington artists who emerged from the first forty years of the twentieth century were dancer Florence

92 The entertainment at the Howard Theatre will be discussed in greater detail later in the study.

93 Discussion on the influence of black dance halls in D.C. will follow later.

9** "The Secret City, " p. 187.

99 Ibid. 22

Mills, jazz composers Claude Hopkins and Edward "Duke"

Ellington.

Despite the improved position of blacks education­ ally and socially, they still remained politically in­ effective in Washington. Only a small percentage were appointed to posts by the Roosevelt Administration and there were none involved in city government. Blacks were still not served in saloons, restaurants, hotels, movie houses and theatres except those built for them.9? Various government agencies even had separate accommodations for blacks and some discriminated in the work offered to blacks.

From 1900 to 1945, the blacks in the District of

Columbia suffered as much from segregation as their southern counterparts.

9®To be discussed in later chapters.

9?Haynes, The American Negro, p. 9 9 . CHAPTER III

MINSTREL AND VAUDEVILLE SHOWS

IN WASHINGTON

1865-1900 MINSTREL AND VAUDEVILLE SHOWS

IN WASHINGTON

1865-1900

In the District of Columbia, as in other parts of the country, the black minstrel shows®® were major forms of entertainment for the community between 1840 and 1890.

Minstrel shows gave the community some of the most exciting moments in early musical theatre, using a combination of music, dance, comedy and drama. Minstrel shows appealed to everyone in the city, both black and white, but primarily drew large black audiences.

The minstrel show was patterned solely on the be­ havior and life style of enslaved blacks and depicted mainly inferior stereotypes of black life. For plantation amuse­ ment, slaves were called upon by the masters to entertain in the evenings and those deemed extremely talented were

hired out to entertain other families.®3 Some of the stereo­ types presented in the minstrel show, however, were positive.

The positive images portrayed blacks to be usually more gifted

9®There were numerous white "black face" minstrel companies that began performing around 18 40. However, black minstrel companies did not surface until 1865.

9®Harry A. Ploski and Warren Marr. The Afro-American: The Negro Almanac (New York; Bellwether Company, 1976), p. 805. 24 25 in music, dance, and acting than whites. They were also portrayed as more emotional, more religious, and more possessed of the ability to sustain misfortune and sorrow with extraordinary courage.The negro minstrel dancers were famous for possessing a multitude of talents other than dancing. The minstrel usually was a singer, comedian, actor, and musician, as well as a dancer in the shows.

When the minstrel shows toured, it was always a big event. The arrival of the minstrel show usually meant a band in a street parade. This parade was lead by the

"silver or gold cornet band gorgeously attired in colorful coats."93 The procession went through the town to the designated theatre and included the entire minstrel company.

Dressed in "Prince Albert or swallow-tails with fancy vests or colored lapels and high plug hats," the procession forma­ tion was four's or two's, depending on the number of company members. In every case, the parade was extended to the longest time limit possible. The drum major, attired in colorful regalia, tossed and twirled his baton while lead­ ing the boys of the minstrel caucus. Most bands gave mini­ concerts in front of the theater prior to every performance and occasionally held a fireworks exhibition to the delight of the audience.

9®Lynne Fauley Emery, Black Dance in the U.S., 1619- 1970 (Palo Alto, CA: National Press Books, 1972), p. 60.

93 Carl Wittke, Tambo and Bones (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1930), p. 145. 26

The January 24, 1892 edition of The Washington Bee

(the leading black newspaper from 1882 to 1922) ran the

following advertisement. It noted the street parade time

in the ad.

Willard Hail - Week of January 26, 1891 McCabe and Young's Colored Operatic Minstrels 3 0 of the best Colored Artists headed by Geo. Jackson and Billy Wisdon, the greatest colored commedians.

Street Parade at 11:30 Admission 25, 50 and 75 cents At Willard Box Office open from 10 to 5:30 pm®^

Some of the most famous negro minstrel shows on the

southeastern circuit stopped in Washington during the hey­ day of the black minstrel shows. One group that opened the doors for the black minstrels was the "Georgia Minstrels,

Kings of Laugh-makers."®® This group was credited as being

the first true black minstrel show to appear in this country.

Organized in 1865 in Macon, Georgia, by James Drake, this

company had twelve members. From the success of the Georgia

Minstrels, Kings of Laugh-makers original member Charles B.

Hicks went to New York and persuaded Charles Callender to

organize a similar company under Hicks' management. By

April 1865, the group was put together and called the

"Georgia Minstrels."®® The staff of this company included

92 The Washington Bee, Washington, D.C.: January 24, 1891.

93 Henderson Smith, "The Passing Negro Minstrel," Howard's American Magazine, October 1900, p. 111.

9® Ibid. , p. 112. 27

Charles Hicks as stage manager, Joe DeCosta as band master, and George Skillings as musical orchestra director. After a very successful season in 1870-71, the company assumed the new name of "Callender’s Georgia Minstrels®® Head­ liners of the Callender’s Georgia Minstrels included the famous Billy Kersands, Bob Height, Billy Wilson, Brown and

Mills and Jake Hamilton.

Billy Kersands was a valued member of the Callender

Minstrels and later went on to appear with other companies.

Kersands, recalled black musical historian Tom Fletcher, was "considered a natural comic."9® As well as being an incomparable dancer, Billy Kersands was a good acrobat.

He was recognized for his innovative dance creations. The

"soft shoe and buck-and-wing" dances developed by Kersands were the rage in the infant stages of show business.

Kersands initially called his soft shoe the "Virginia

E s s e n c e . "97 in every show, according to Tom Fletcher, Billy

Kersands would dance his soft shoe "to a slow 4/4 rhythm and for all his 200 lbs., was light on his feet as a person half his size. The tune he danced to most of the time was Stephen

Foster's Swanee River."®® Another facet of his performance

99 Ibid.

99 Tom Fletcher, 100 Yrs. of the Negro in Show Busi­ ness (New York: Burdge & Company, 1954), p. 61.

92 Ibid.

99 Ibid. , p. 62. 28

that brought the audience to its feet was his ability to

hold two pool balls in his mouth while dancing.

In an 1884 Washington Bee amusement announcement,

■Kersands appeared with the Callender Minstrel Festival.

Callender Minstrel Festival with Festival Artists - Billy Kersands - The Greatest Comedian Living...The Greatest achievements ever known in modern minstrelsy.®®

In March 1897, Kersands appeared with Richards and Pringles'

Georgia Minstrels at the Bijou Theatre located at 9th and

Pennsylvania Avenue. By this time, according to the Bee,

Kersands the undisputed headliner of minstrelsy, "was the

highest paid comedian, black or white, of the time."2®

The most professional and exciting act among the

black minstrel shows was the group belonging to Mme.

Sisseretta Jones. When producers Voegel and Nolan heard

the magnificent voice of Mme. Jones, christened by her

critics as the "Black Patti" after great operatic star

Adeline Patti, they formed the "Black Patti's Troubadors." 2*

Among the other black minstrel shows that graced the

Washington area were John Isham's Octoroons and his Oriental

Americans. Tom Fletcher recalled that the Troubadors and

Orientals had many fine singers and "would sing an aria

from one of the grand operas as a finale instead of the

®®Washington B e e , January 28, 1884.

2° Ib i d . , March 13, 1897.

23 Fletcher, Negro in Show Business, p. 29 29 usual comedy or cakewalk grand finale."22

Black Patti's Troubadors did not appear in the

District of Columbia until December 1892. The program opened at Kernan's Grand Opera House located near 11th and Pennsylvania Avenue South. "Black Patti's Troubadors at Jolly Coney Island" was the troup's theme and was de­ scribed in one review as featuring "coon songs and buck

d a n c i n g . "23 Mme. Sisseretta Jones returned frequently to the District of Columbia area with her Troubadors. The

December 5, 1896 Bee ran a short review of the Black Patti

Tour. The review gave a clear idea of what Black Patti's

Troubadors encompassed:

In addition to Black Patti who is host in herself there are a number of very clever singers, dancers and comedians among the fifty or more people who comprise the com­ pany. In the performance which embraces a kaleidoscope of opera, comedy, burlesque and vaudeville, there is not a dull or lagging moment. Bob Cole, the prince of comedians with a coterie of fun-makers sustains the comedy features and Black Patti, a quartette of vocal soloist and a grand chorus of thirty well-trained voices render a series of opera­

tic selections in costume and s c e n e r y . 2®

The Troudabors were always welcomed by the black District residents and served as one of the entertainment outlets where black professional dancing could be seen.

Other minstrel shows that showcased black dancers

2 2 I b i d .

23 Washington Bee, December 7, 1892.

74 Ibid., December 5, 1896. 30 were Sam T. Jack's Creole Burlesque and Isham's Octoroons.

The Creole Burlesque was cited in one review as having

"dancers from the West Indies . . . the nimblest and most skillful disciples of Terpsichore 2® The Octoroons were advertised in 1898 as presenting:

65 of the leading artists of the colored race. Presenting a program of unusual excellence, embracing farce, ballet and spectacle. 2®

This is the first reference made to black dancers performing

"ballet." It is not known whether the "ballet" performed was classical or a parody.

All the big minstrel shows that appeared in

Washington from Black Patti's Troubadors to Sam T. Jack's

Creole Company featured a dance called the "cakewalk."2?

The cakewalk was a direct descendant of the slave dance known as the "chalk-line walk." The chalk-line walk was described as the following:

There was no prancing, just a straight walk on a path made by turns and so forth, along which the dancers made their way with a pail of water on their heads. The couple that was the most erect and spilled the least water or no water at all was the winner. 2®

Later the chalk-line walk was revised by an exciting black dancer named Charlie Johnson. He applied fancier steps and

29 Ibid., May 9, 1891.

2® Ibid., February 19, 1898.

22 Fletcher, Negro in Show Business, p. 109.

78Ib i d ., p. 19 31 the name changed to the cakewalk.’®

There were numerous vaudeville acts that presented assorted dance forms for both black and white entertainment in Washington. Most of these vaudeville acts appeared in

Washington during the last decade of the nineteenth century.

The dances exhibited in these vaudeville performances ranged from "the great shadow dances"®® of the Howard Big Burlesque

Company to the Delaur-Debrimont Spectalur Operatic Burlesque

Company's "La Carmencita" dance. "La Carmencita" was billed

as "the wildest, prettiest of all Spanish d a n c e s . "®3 one act called the Kiralfy Parisian Ballet Troupe featured Arnold

Kiralfy described as the "great grotesque dancer."®2 Most of the burlesque acts were white, but some had a few black specialty spots.

When in Washington the black minstrel shows were hosted by Kernan's Grand Opera House and Lyceum Theatre, the Globe Theatre, Willard Hall and the Academy Theatre.

These theatres were usually ill-equipped and somewhat run down. Prices to attend minstrel and vaudeville shows in the evening ranged from ten cents to seventy-five cents.

Prices were slightly lower for matinees and ranged from ten cents to fifty cents. Most theatres ran matinee performances

2®The cakewalk will be discussed in greater detail in the next chapters.

®°Washington B e e , October 11, 1890

®3 Ibid. , January 1891.

®2 Ibid . , May 1890, 32

four times a week in addition to daily evening shows. Most

engagements lasted one week unless popular demand warranted

a longer stay.

The heyday of the black minstrel shows was between

1870 through 1880. By 1880 there were some thirty black minstrel shows working at one time. Several influences

led to the decline of minstrelsy. The productions changed

drastically as the performers drifted more and more away

from the model upon which minstrelsy was patterned. With

the American audiences wanting "better and bigger" minstrel

shows, the cost of management, production, and skyrocketing

salaries made it virtually impossible to maintain financial

success.93 Finally, black dancers were starting to find

other opportunities for exercising their craft.

83 Wittke, Tambo and Bones, p. 66 . CHAPTER IV

BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON

1883-1928 BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON

1883-1928

The first known black dance teacher to surface in

Washington, D.C. was William H. Smallwood.®® William H.

Smallwood, a native Washingtonian, was born in May 1855. ®9

In 1880, W.H. Smallwood, his wife Ella, and their family of three daughters, Nettie, Gertrude and Mattie, and one son, Leon, lived at 1117 11th Street, N.W. In addition to his immediate family, his older brother Lane and his two younger sisters, Jeannette and Ida Mae, also lived with him.

At this time Mr. Smallwood was employed as a messenger for the U.S. Treasury Department.®® (During this time period a job with the government as a messenger or clerk was con­ sidered a step up in the black community.) By 1883 the

Smallwood family had moved to another home located at 113 9

15th Street, N.W.®^ Smallwood taught dance as a second job.

It is not known why or how W.H. Smallwood took to teaching dance, but it can be assumed he gave it some thought

9®W.H. Smallwood is considered the first known black dance instructor, mainly because he is the only one who advertised in any of the papers.

9®1880 Census; District of Columbia, vol. 4.

9®Polk's Washington, D.C. Directory of 1883, n.p.

92 Washington Bee, February 24, 1883.

34 35 for several weeks. On January 20, 1883 an ad read:

For Rent - Large and Suitable rooms on the second floor of house no. 1109 F Street, N. W. for entertainment of any kind — cheap. Call and see them.9®

Mr. Smallwood obviously went to see the space advertised and liked what he saw. On February 24, 1883, W.H. Smallwood placed his first advertisement announcing his new enterprise,

Private Dancing School — Over Mme. Estre's Store, 1109 F Street, N. W. The entire second floor will be used for that purpose. Instructions given in classes or to indivi­ duals. New classes will be formed March 1st. For terms information, etc. apply to W. H. Smallwood no. 1139 15th Street, between the hours of 5 and 8 o'clock p.m.9®

This particular ad ran until March 17th, two weeks after the registration.

By December of 1883, Mr. Smallwood's classes had moved to a new location some two blocks away. The space was probably larger than the F Street studio. He ran this ad for his new address:

Smallwood Dancing School at Guard's Hall — 1218 E Street N. W. Special attention paid to Private Classes. — W. H. Smallwood 1139 15th Street N. W.®®

Through additional ads it is known that he remained at this address through April 18 84.

By September 1885, Mr. Smallwood's classes took on

99 Ib i d ., January 20, 1883.

9®Ibid, February 24, 188 3.

®°Ibid., December 29, 1883. 36 a new dimension. Either for convenience to the community, or by popular demand, he apparently opened a second dancing school to accommodate children's lessons. How successful the two schools were is not really known, but from September

12 to October 10 this ad appeared announcing his "dancing academies."

Smallwood's Dancing Academies G.A. Hall, Corner 6th and C Street N. W. Reunions from 8 to 11:30, to which all pupils and friends are invited.

Cadet Hall, O Street between 7th and 8th Street, N.W. Juvenile classes, Saturday from 4 to 6:39 p.m. For terms or information apply at 1117 11th St. N. W. ®3

Judging from the change in residence address, Mr.

Smallwood moved his family back to the 11th Street home.

Apparently the demand for two schools was not sufficient, and as a consequence W.H. Smallwood reduced his schools to only one and began teaching only private lessons. This lasted through the remainder of 1885 and up until May 1886.

Also by this time W.H. Smallwood had changed government jobs. He now had a position at the Bureau of Engraving and

Printing.

Finally, in January of 1887, W.H. Smallwood moved his dancing school to another location, larger than the previous ones. In the remaining ads, the price of a lesson appears for the first time: a mere twenty-five cents. The following ad shows the final location of W.H. Smallwood's

91 Ibid., September 12, 1885. 37

Dancing School:

Dancing School at Cadet's armory every Friday evening commencing February 18th at 8 o'clock. Price of a lesson twenty-five c e n t s . W.H. Smallwood, Instructor Music furnished for Balls and Concerts ®2

The above ad appeared until August 1887. It is not known whether the school folded immediately thereafter or some­

time later.

During the heyday of W.H. Smallwood's teaching of dance speculation indicated that maybe he taught the style of dance found at the white dancing schools and probably charged comparable prices. (Based on a schedule of prices

from Professor George T. Sheldon's Dancing School, a white

instructor, lessons ranged anywhere between ten dollars

for three months of lessons to a single lesson costing two dollars.) This theory is further substantiated by the fact

that W.H. Smallwood's first location at 1109 F Street, N.W. was right in the vicinity of the white dancing schools. In

18 83 when Smallwood started his dancing school, within a

five-block radius, the Smallwood Dancing School competed with its white counterparts. Professor Sheldon, located at

1004 F Street, N.W., and the Marini-Bates Dancing School,

located at 914 E Street, N.W., were two of the prominent white schools in the city.®® It can also be assumed that

®2Ibid., January 29, 1887.

®®D.C. City Directory, Columbia Historical Society, 38 this is also probably why W.H. Smallwood moved his school so often. With free blacks becoming educated, obtaining better jobs, and starting their own enterprises, the white establishment probably forced him to relocate.

Most white dancing schools in the city taught a ballroom style of dancing mixed with basic ballet funda­ mentals. The dance style taught dealt with overall grace­ fulness, using the foot gracefully and learning specialty dances from Europe such as the "Skirt Dance," Some teachers based their dance curriculum on the "pavanne" and the gesture- pantomimic actions of Delsartism.®®

W.H. Smallwood did not surface again as a dance in­ structor, but in 1889 entered a new business venture with

W.S. Duffield. From 1889 until 1891, Smallwood and Duffield launched their new venture through the following ad:

W.H. Smallwood and Duffield Wholesale and Manufacturer of Ice Cream and Water Ices Families, Dealers and Parties Served on the Shortest of Notice 1707 8th Street N. W. We respectfully solicit the patronage of our many friends. W.H, Smallwood and W.S. Duffield®®

By 190 0 W.H. Smallwood had made several significant accomplishments. He was now the father of two additional

®®"European Dance Teachers in the United States," Ann Barzel. Dance Index (New York: Arno Press, 1944), vol. Ill, pp. 70-71.

®9Washington Bee, September 1889, 39 daughters, Rosalind and Bertha, he had moved his family to a larger home at 1734 10th Street, N.W., and had given

Washington, D.C. its first known black dancing schools.

W.H. Smallwood died around 1923.

Another movement or exercise teacher to surface in the black community during the end of the nineteenth century was a young woman named Anita J. Turner. In 18 91, Anita J.

Turner became a teacher for the colored public schools in the District.®® This writer speculates that she taught some type of rhythmic physical activity such as folk dancing. In

1895 Miss Turner began her teaching of exercise through classes organized by the Y.M.C.A.'s Athletic Department.

Located at 1607 11th Street, N.W., the Y.M.C.A. offered the following schedule of sessions for its black clientele in

1896:

— adult female classes under Miss A.J. Turner, the efficient instructress of last year, meets every Thursday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, 11 o'clock a.m. — adult male class meets on Wednesday 9 p.m. and Saturday, 8 p.m. — girls classes (children) meets every Wednesday 4 p.m. and Saturday 9:30 A.m. — boys classes (children) is not or j.'.nu.zed, not enough applicants.®2

When the Y.M.C.A. held its annual fundraising event, the Carnival of Athletes, to benefit the gymnasium fund,

Anita J. Turner's young ladies class provided "entertaining

®®Washington Star, n.d., 1941.

®2Washington Bee, December 26, 1896. 40 exercise."^® What this "entertaining exercise" involved is not known. It is unclear also how long Miss Turner main­ tained her classes at the Y.M.C.A. In 1902 she was appointed director of physical education and took a position at the

Miner Normal School located at 300 T Street, N.W. She re­ mained as director of physical education for the next thirty- eight years. Miss Turner was credited with introducing dance or rhythmic movement activities into the curriculum of the black public schools. She was the first to initiate the annual May Day Festivals for the schools, which always in­ volved various dancing events.

As far as the black fad dances were concerned in

Washington, the "cakewalk" reigned supreme until 1910. In the 1890s the cakewalk reached the height of its popularity in the black community through the cakewalk contests. These events were always a big hit with everyone, young and old, and even helped to launch a fruitful dancing career for an exciting Washington dancer named Florence Mills.

Cakewalk contests were held by social organizations, amateur talent shows and were used as featured events for

fundraisers. Cakewalk winners were generally judged on

timing, execution and individual style. Specific criteria used in selection of winners included the participant's

facial expressions, originality of movement, turns and

costumes. When Bill Farrell and his wife performed in the

36 Ibid., April 10, 1897. 41 city, the crowds would go wild over Mrs. Farrell's version of the cakewalk, which was so electrifying she had won prizes at Madison Square Garden in New York.®®

At the Carnival of Athletes fundraiser in 1897, "the biggest event was the cake walk contest." "After three trials," according to one report, "the cake was unanimously awarded to Mr. Harry Smith and Miss Bessie Paynter."^®° These contests often turned into full-fledged shows and would fea­ ture "the best professionals in the District^Prizes for the cakewalk winners ranged from cakes to money. One contest even offered gold as the top prize. The popular

Grand Cake Walk was recorded by the Washington Bee in April

1899.

The Combination Association under the direc­ tion of their manager, Mr. J. Otoway Holmes, will give their. Fourth Grand Entertainment and Cakewalk At Grand Army Hall — Pa. Ave. between 14th and 15th Streets, N. W. A Grand Cake Walk will take place at 12 sharp- Special to Cake Walkers. The best lady and gent Cake Walkers will receive $5 in gold. Admission 35*. Doors open from 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.^®^

Dan Washington, a reknowned professional cakewalker of the 1890s, offered tips to aspiring black dancers on how to achieve recognition. According to Washington, "cake

®®Ibi d ., April 18, 1892.

I bid., April 10, 1897.

I bid.

Ibid. , April 1899. 42

walkers are born, not made, but practice is desirable and

a good partner is essential."^®® The cakewalk was executed

through various turns and twists. A typical display of

good cakewalking included a solo by each couple engaged,

the chorus walk, the individual specialties, the hoi polloi

chorus, and the chorus of all stars. Washington recommended

the "Prince Albert or swallow-tail" overcoat for the men

with patent leather shoes and a silk top hat. Ladies were

best suited in evening attire. Professional cakewalkers of

the day were paid from six dollars to fifteen dollars per

performance.

In addition to the cakewalk craze, black Washington­

ians also took to other fad dances from 1890 to 1982. The

"Pasumala," the "Black Annie," the "Jenny-Cola," "Ballin'

the Jack" and the "Black Bottom" all enjoyed popularity in

the black social setting, but none ever surpassed the al­ mighty "Cakewalk."!®® Although the dance fads were enjoyed

by most black residents and served as an outlet for socializ­

ing, public creative expression and courtship, there was

some disapproval. The black churches voiced concern over

the "kind of dancing that interests and stimulates a decided

tendency towards excess and degeneracy."!®® one report went

10 3 IIThe Art of Cake Walking," Dan Washington, n.p., n.d.

10 4 "The Negro's Contribution to American Musical Lit­ erature," W.C. Handy (New York: Handy Brothers Music Co., n.d. )

!®®Jones, Recreation and Amusement, p. 65. 43 so far as to blast any church of spiritual and upright guidance that would permit such dances as the "Black

Bottom," the "Prosperity Crawl," or the "Bump,"!®® The

Howard University student paper, The Hilltop, featured a reprimanding editorial about the craze dances of the 1920.

Howard University is greatly influenced by the type of dancing that is characteristic of Washington groups. Sometimes students are seen dancing "cheek to cheek" wrapped in each other's arms. Then, too, the "Charleston Cutout" — the latest most popular of modern freak dances is sometimes danced as well as several other contortionist steps called d a n c e s . ! ®^

With the arrival of the ever-popular dance crazes in the black social circle, Washington saw the influx of a variety of dance halls. The dance hall, equivalent to the discotheques of the 197 0s, were not embraced eagerly by all of the residents. One disapproving viewpoint encored by the religious community went as follows;

The dance hall embraces an atmosphere in which the most powerful human impulses and emotions are funtioning— jealousy, anger, fear, sex, love, pride— all render this form of socialization peculiarly susceptible to deterioration.!® ®

Another community faction felt that there was probably no other traditional or social environment that misled and corrupted its citizenry more than the dance hall. Since

!“® I b i d .

!®^Howard University Hilltop, February 15, 1924

!®®Jones, Recreation and Amusement, p. 122. 44 these same community groups were antagonistic to the fad dances and considered the dances as a means to "illicit sexual behavior," it seemed the dance halls would not be supported. Contrary, however, they were well attended and packed on every occasion. Two of the most popular dance halls patronized by District blacks were the Lincoln

Colonade, on U Street, N.W., in the basement of the Lincoln

Theatre, and the Murray Palace Casino, also on U Street between 9th and 10th Streets.!®®

The Lincoln Colonade was owned by the Crandall

Theatre Corporation, a white business, and managed by blacks.

The one thousand capacity Colonade usually carried an attend­ ance of six hundred eager patrons. This particular hall usually catered to the open and private affairs of the black college fraternities and various prominent social clubs. Admission was between thirty-five cents and a dollar.

The Murray Palace Casino was owned and operated by blacks, the Murray brothers. The Casino was one of the District's first reinforced concrete buildings and was designed and constructed by black architect Isaiah T. Hatton. ü ® The

Murray Palace Casino was hailed as the "most beautiful dance saloon in America, which was owned and operated by negroes." ü !

The Casino could hold a capacity crowd of eighteen hundred.

!°® I b i d ., p. 125.

Ü® Ib i d .

!!! Ibid. 45 but the regular crowds never went above five hundred patrons.

This dance hall was also supported by all the leading social and fraternal groups of the black populace. Admission was

fifty-five cents for night dancing and thirty-five cents

for afternoon sessions. There were other less popular dance halls for black residents of the city which prescribed to

the same formula as the Colonade and the Casino.

As far as individual dancers were concerned the most

famous to emerge from the period between 1883 and 1928 was the scintillating Florence Mills. Born in Washington in

1892, Florence Mills made her dancing debut at age six.

Billed as "Baby Florence Mills, an Extra Added Attraction,

she played the Bijou Family Theatre. Her version of "Miss

Hannah From Savannah" included singing and dancing. She was

a big hit with the crowds and was always brought back on

stage to dance. From previous experience Florence had been well-groomed for this dancing debut. According to Tom

Fletcher, she appeared "before the most exclusive set in

Washington" and entertained them with her dancing routines.

In addition, she had won many buck dancing and cakewalking

championships by her sixth birthday.

Florence received many stage offers as a result of

her local notoriety. She accepted one offer with the Lew

! Specific reference to these dance halls can be found in Appendix Table 1.

Fletcher, Negro in Show Business, p. 195.

Ibid. 46

Hearns' vaudeville show and toured for several years.

After leaving Hearns, Florence and her two sisters, Olivia and Maude, formed the Mills Sisters song and dance team.

The trio eventually became a duo of just Florence and

Maude, and later Florence went on to team up with "Kinky"

Clark to become "Mills and Kinky."!!® From "Mills and

Kinky" she did engagements with the "Panama Trio" and the

"Tennessee Ten." It was during her four years with the

"Ten" that she met and joined forces with U.S. Thompson to form a new vaudeville act.

In 1921 Florence Mills got her big break. Summoned to New York to perform the role originally created by

Gertrude Saunders, Florence starred in the Noble Sissle-

Eubie Blake musical, Shuffle-Along.!!® She achieved such success that Lew Leslie, one of the foremost producers of the day, spotlighted her in his Plantation Revue. The next few years saw Florence Mills travelling abroad with other

Lew Leslie productions such as his 1924 Dixie to Broadway.

In London one critic encored her portrayal in From Dover

Street to Dixie in the following review:

The coming of Miss Florence Mills, the American Colored Girl, playing in From Dover Street to Dixie, is something unequalled by an American

Ib i d .

Ü® "Shuffle Along," The Afro American; The Negro Almanac, compiled by Harry A. Ploski and Warren Marr [New York: Bellwether Company, 1976), p. 97. 47

playing here in the last decade. She is by far the most artistic person London has had the good fortune to see.“ ^

In 1926 Mills starred in Leslie's Blackbirds with

Adelaide Hall. She received rave reviews both here and abroad with her performance in Blackbirds. In 1927, on a return trip from London, international star and Washington's own, Florence Mills died suddenly at the age of thirty-five.

Another black Washington dancer to surface during this time was Edna Morton. Very little is known about Edna

Morton or her dancing career. Born in 1890 in Pennsylvania,

Edna grew up in Washington with her grandfather, Robert P.

Johnson.!!® This writer speculates that she began her dancing career as a professional sometime around 1910. At twenty-three she began a successful career with showman,

Jerome Peters. Her most memorable performance appears to have been in My Friend From Kentucky, where she was spotlighted in the "Tango Dance."

An important event that changed the course of black entertainment in the city was the construction of the Howard

Threatre. The Howard Theatre had a strong influence on the

District's black community. This influence was unequalled in that it was located in the heart of the black community, it provided a showcase for local singers and dancers, as well as national artists and finally it was the most popular

117 Fletcher, Negro in Show Business, p. 196.

!!®Geneology Division, National Archives, 1900 Census: for the District of Columbia. 48 and well patronized of all the black theatres in its heyday.

The Howard was built on an empty lot in 1910. The man responsible for its construction was a furniture store owner from southeast Washington.^^® The new theatre was named for its nearness to Howard University. The Washington

Bee announced the theatre's opening with the following notice;

Howard Theatre, 7th and T Sts., N. W. open August 22. First Class in every appointment. The Theatre for the people.!^®

The black community received the opening of the Howard Theatre with enormous gratification. This theatre would be the first in the city to serve blacks without discriminating special seating arrangements.

When the opening.week arrived the overwhelming feeling of its first patrons was that the Howard was "the finest theatre in the city . . . one of the prettiest theatres in the country."!^! The interior design was described in the following review:

It possessed a broad and magnificent lobby leading through various balconies. There were thirteen separate and independent exits for the main auditorium, which enabled the management to empty the theatre in two or three minutes, a claim no other theatre in the city could make. This was made possible by the fact that

!!®Bettye Gardiner and Bettye Thomas, "The Cultural Impact of the Howard Theatre on the Black Community," The Journal of Negro History, vol. LV, no. 4, October 1970, p. 253

Washington Bee, August 13, 1910.

Ibid. , August 27, 1910. 49

the building occupied an entire block, bounded by three streets and a 2 0 ft. wide alley. ^

The notice went on to describe the orchestra section, the balconies and eight proscenium boxes located in the fifteen hundred capacity main auditorium. The Howard also possessed enough dressing rooms "to accommodate one hundred performers."!^®

Owned by the New York Theatre Corporation, a white company, the Howard was managed by blacks. W.H. Smith, whose previous theatrical management experience included the

Pekin Theatre in Chicago, was brought to Washington in 1910 to be the Howard's first manager.®^® The Howard usually held three performances per day on the weekends— a matinee, evening and midnight shows--and daily evening performances

Monday through Thursday. Prices ranged from thirty cents for matinee shows, thirty cents, fifty cents, and seventy- five cents for evening shows, and fifty cents, seventy-five cents and one dollar for midnight shows. During the early years of the Howard Theatre the patronage mainly consisted of the black upper middle-class. On opening night the Bee reported "black Washington society was out in force." This trend in patronage continued for the next few decades.

Ibid.

Ibid., August 13, 1910.

Jones, Recreation and Amusement, p. 119.

Gardiner and Thomas, "Impact of the Howard," p. 254

Jones, Recreation and Amusement, p. 119. 50

The attractions which played the Howard Theatre were musicals, roadshows, vaudeville, an occasional circus and stock company productions. On the bill with the main feature were usually lesser known singers and "high brown dancing girls.The black community was encouraged and allowed to use the theatre when it was dark. Many black civic and social groups held testimonials, church and organizational meetings, local variety shows and Sunday concerts at the theater.

One of the most exciting shows to play the Howard stage during the early years was My Friend from Kentucky.

A 1913 review applauded the superior choruses and the extra­ ordinary dancing. Particular mention was made of the spot­ light feature, "The Tango Dance." "Loudly applauded, elec­ trifying audiences" this specialty number was heralded by

Jerome Peters and his three dancing girls: Ethel Williams,

Daisy Brown, and Washingtonian, Edna Morton. This ensemble was cited by some critics as the greatest on the American stage during this era.

My Friend From Kentucky marked the beginning of the black musical road shows to play the Howard Theatre.

Other shows that entertained the black Washington theatre goers were the Darktown Politician, Strut Your Stuff and

Bandana Land, to cite a few. All of these shows served as

Ibid.

Washington Bee, 1913. 51

vehicles for promising young dancers in the District to see

professional stage dancing and even offered opportunities

for some dancers to understudy for shows. Even though these

early black musicals were not well-known, they paved the way for the major black spectacles that emerged and launched

the professional careers of many black dancers, singers, musicians, and writers.

One of the most famous black productions to come out

of these shows was Shuffle Along. Song writers Noble Sissle

and Eubie Blake collaborated with authors Flournory Miller

and Aubrey Lyles to produce, direct, and star in this hit.

Shuffle Along played the Howard Theatre on a one-week engage­

ment in March of 1921. According to the Bee, the cast in­

cluded Lottie Gee, Gertrude Saunders, Lawrence Deas and the

Palm Beach Four.®^® The show played to extraordinary accolades

and notices that expedited its arrival to New York City and

Broadway. Shuffle Along opened the doors for numerous black

musicals to follow and virtually all of them played the

Howard Theatre stage before going to New York. Black

Washingtonians saw the dancing and singing of Irving Miller's

Put and Take, Creamer and Layton's Strut Miss Lizzie, Lew

Leslie's Blackbirds and Hot Chocolates.!®® The Howard

Theatre would continue to be the showcase for black dancers

right through to 1945.

!^®Ibid., March 26, 1921.

!®° "Shuffle Along," p. 103, CHAPTER V

BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON

1928-1945 BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON

1928-1945

The Social Structure of the Black Washington Community

The social structure of the black Washington community had a direct effect on the black dancing schools in the city. The black community was divided into a social ladder that separated the professionals such as doctors, lawyers, businessmen and teachers, from the blue collar workers and domestics. In between these two divisions were the blacks who were federal government workers. Black

Washingtonians discriminated amongst themselves almost as severely as whites discriminated against them.

From 1928 to 194 5 there were several black high schools in the city. The two academic schools were Dunbar and Cardoza. According to this writer's older Washington resources, Dunbar High School was attended by children of the so-called "black professionals," Cardoza, on the other hand, was attended by children of government workers, rail­ way porters and teachers. Children of blue collar workers or lower-class blacks attended the other vocational black high schools. The only exception made for lower-class

53 54 students to attend Dunbar or Cardoza was for exceptional scholastic aptitude or "pulling some strings" within the black educational hierarchy.!®®

Not only did blacks discriminate by class, but the ominous past shadow persisted of prejudice by skin-color.

One source interviewed recalled that for black residents who were of fair to medium brown complexion, opportunities were unlimited. For those of darker skin color there were many barriers. This color discrimination was reflected in the social and fraternal clubs that flourished in the city.

Rarely did these groups admit darker-skinned blacks. In the schools, teachers arbitrarily overlooked the darker student and generally gave special favors to the so-called

"pretty child.The only compensating factors for the darker black to be fully accepted in the social circles were to be educated, possess extraordinary intelligence or fin­ ancial sources, and to "know somebody" of the fairer group.

As far as the dance schools were concerned, the students were mainly children of prominent black profes­ sionals in the city. One teacher recalled "the students of

Mabel Jones Freeman were very fair and only those who could afford to pay were taught."®®® Another interviewee admitted readily that she only taught children of well-to-do blacks

!®! Interview: Shirley E. Patterson, Washington, D.C., September 1982.

!®® Ibid.

!®® Interview: Therrill Smith, Washington, D.C., May 4, 1982. 55 in her early teaching career. Several of those interviewed confirmed the same fact and defended this action with the explanation that only the prominent black families could afford to pay for lessons. Also, the upper middle-class blacks were supportive, both emotionally and financially.

Many of them felt that training their children placed them on the same level as their white counterparts.

This writer assumes that the lower-class black students took advantage of dance sessions provided by the

Community Center and Playground Department. From all in­ dications, the recreational classes were free to the general public. Lower-class black children who could not take classes were able to take advantage of dance demonstrations held in the schools. Some of the exceptionally talented lower-class students were allowed to join the private studios on a limited time basis.

The Howard Theatre continued to be a showplace for professional black musical theatre that focused on the hottest dancers and singers of the day. The year 1929 marked the end of one era and the beginning of another for black musical dancers. The last successful black musical road show before the Great Depression was Hot Chocolates.®®® This show opened and closed in 1929.

In 1931 the Howard Theatre received a new manager in the person of Shep Allen. While Allen was manager many

1 34 IIShuffle Along," p. 103 56 renovations and alterations were made on the theatre, against the protest of the black citizens. Many felt that with the

Depression and unemployment plaguing the city, the theatre had become a "white elephant." But Allen's ingenuity and perserverance opened the doors for a whole new era that would take the next decades by storm. In the summer of

1931 Shep Allen engaged a young Washington musician and his band to open the Howard Theatre's new look. On September 26,

1931, Edward "Duke" Ellington and his band inaugurated two decades of big band entertainment and showcased some of the greatest tap dancers to play in the city,®®®

Among the early dancing acts to appear through the

19 30s at the Howard Theatre was a group called the "Howard- ettes."®®® Described as "high brown dancing girls,"®®’ this group was directed by Ristina Banks.®®® Ristina Banks, an excellent dancer, was the lead chorus girl and choreographer for the group. The Howardettes, according to several older

Washingtonians, were considered to be the black version of the Rockettes of Radio City Music Hall. Adorned in glamorous, flashy costumes, the girls performed chorus line routines and high stepping dance sequences. The members were all

®®®Gardiner and Thomas, "Impact of the Howard," p. 259.

®®® Ibid.

®®’ Jones, Recreation and Amusement, p. 119.

®®® Gardiner and Thomas, "Impact of the Howard," p. 259. 57 talented black dancers from the city and were usually very tall. The Howardettes were regular attractions on the featured bills and usually opened the shows. When not performing at the Howard Theatre, Ristina Banks and the

Howardettes played the "Burma Circuit."®®® During the

1930s through 1950s, the "Burma Circuit" was the name used to identify the black theatres of the northeast. These in­ cluded the Royal in Baltimore, the Earl in Philadelphia, the Regal in Chicago, the Howard in Washington, and the famous Apollo in Harlem, New York.

By the 1940s the Howard ushered in a parade of

"hoofers" to the Washington dance scene. The 1940s were considered the heyday of tap dancing in Washington. Among the lesser known tappers to perform were the teams of "Moke n '

Poke," the "Chocolatiers," and "Slim n ' Slam." Jimmy Slyde and Lon Chaney of the famous Original Hoofers noted in a recent interview that among the more notable tappers to perform in this city were the Barry Brothers, who would tap while spinning trays and the Four Step Brothers. Raymond

Winfield was one of the first to perform the slide technique developed by Eddie Floyd. He also would tap on the small surface of a round drum several feet from the floor. This feature always delighted and amazed the crowds.®"*®

There were several black female tap dancers who

®®® Interview: Jimmy Slyde and Lon Chaney, October 9, 1982.

®®® Ibid. 58 appeared frequently in the District. The Three Whitman

Sisters, the Edwards' Sisters, Juanita Pitts, Mabel Lee and

Edith Gibson were among those to perform atthe Howard.

According to Slyde, Edith Gibson was one of the pioneers of the tap technique involving "toe stands

Other popular tap dancers, who were native Washington­ ians, also shared their talent with the community: Peg-leg

Bates, Teddy Hall, Bill Bailey, and Freddie James. Bio­ graphical information on these dancers has been scarce mainly because they left Washington and settled in other citiesas they were able to find more work and achieve some degreeof success. ®

The D.C. Department of Recreation, formerly called the Community Center and Playgrounds Department, offered free dance classes to the black community during the 1930s through the 1940s. Many of the black dance instructors who opened their own studios started with the Community Center and Playgrounds Department. The black recreational facilities offered a multitude of dance forms to its residents. These forms were categorized as aesthetic dancing, classical ballet, folk dancing, social dance, tap and dance drama.®"*® These

®**® Ibid.

®"*^ Appendix 3 will cite a long list of tap dancers and variety dancers who performed in Washington.

®"*® Directory of Recreational Facilities for Negroes in the District of Columbia (Community Center and Playgrounds Department, 1940), pp. 12-13. 59 classes were offered on a daily basis year round. An

Annual Dance Festival was usually held in the fall and each center held independent demonstrations at their own loca­ tions. No records could be found with information on specific instructors or programs.

Pioneers of Black Dance in Washington; Mabel Jones Freeman

The period from the late 1920s to 1945 saw the birth of structured ballet classes in the black community.

The first known black dance instructor to teach classical ballet in the District of Columbia was Mabel Jones Freeman.

Freeman was born around the turn of the century and was a native of Columbus, Ohio.

Mabel Jones Freeman was introduced to dance by her physical education teacher at North High School in Columbus.

Maize Rickey, the physical education teacher, was a graduate of the Vestoff Serova Russian Dance School, and was instru­ mental in Freeman's study with Veronine Vestoff.®"*® Accord­ ing to Mrs. Freeman, "Veronine Vestoff came from a family of artists, his father having been a soloist in company with Pavlova at the Metropolitan Opera House and at the

®"*"* Appendix 2 will list the specific community centers and playgrounds available to blacks and a schedule of what dance programs were offered.

®"*® Mabel Jones Freeman, Biographical Brief, n.p., n.d. (Howard University), p. 1.

i"t6 Freeman, Biography, p. 1. 60

Covent Gardens, London, England. Veronine was considered one of the greatest dance masters of modern time."®**’ After two years of private classes with the Russian master, she received her certificate in ballet from the school. Freeman treasured her years with Vestoff, not only for the high calibre of training she received, but also for his "inspira­ tion to strive always for quality of the highest."®"*®

Mabel Jones' second phase of training continued with the Vestoff technique and the elder Vestoff brother,

Genrich, in Europe. During her work under Genrich, Mabel

Jones began developing her "first chance at creative work."®"*®

Mabel Freeman recalled "until that time I had developed none of my creative side, and I was more eager than ever to create within myself after this experience."®®® Genrich Vestoff developed a classic dance based on creative ballet forms that interpreted the American Indian life style.®®® The ballet was composed of two parts. The first depicted the

struggle between the white man and the Indians and the

second manifested the frustrations and blighted hope of the

American Indians. Freeman choreographed the latter part with the assistance of her instructor. She was moved by the

®"*’ Ibid.

®"*® Ibid.

®"*® Ibid.

®®° Ibid.

®®® Ibid., p. 2. 61 challenge of choreography and later reflected that this first experience "seemed to awaken in me an even greater love for the dance.Freeman's potential for a career in dance was excellent but the opportunities for black ballet dancers were nill.

When Mabel's finances were depleted and she could no longer study in Europe, she returned to her native

Columbus and began teaching ballet and creative modern. To initiate her teaching career, Mabel Jones was presented in a solo dance concert by the Alpha Kappa Alpha Soroity at the

Chamber of Commerce. The black community of Columbus wel­ comed the dance school and in two short years she achieved overwhelming success. During these early years of teaching she gave two dance performances with her students, embracing music and creative dance.®®®

After several successful seasons in Columbus, Mabel

Jones Freeman left her home to seek a broader field to work.

Settling in Washington, D.C. around 1927, she began teaching in a studio located near 9th and R Street, N.W.®®"* It was at this studio that Freeman introduced classical ballet to the promising young black dancers of the city. Many of the young black dancers to pass through Mabel Jones Freeman's classical training would continue to build on the foundation

®®^ Ibid.

®®® Ibid.

®®‘* Interview; Smith. 62 she established. One of Mrs. Freeman's first dance recitals in Washington was held at the Balasco Theatre near 15th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.®®®

Mabel Freeman also taught dance classes for nearly seven years with the D.C. Department of Recreation. She considered this period to be her most productive while developing what she considered her "finest work as a teacher."®®® She summarized her work with the Recreation

Department in the following remarks:

More and more I continued to develop my creative side, working with Drama, Dance, and Music as one, balancing the values of each art and pro­ jecting all in the interpretation of one expres­ sion. To do this successfully as a teacher was always my ambition. When the three Arts are so balanced that one does not overshadow the other, I found the interrelation most stimulating. It gives one an unlimited field of expression,®®’

In between her teaching and choreography sessions,

Mabel Freeman would give solo performances. In 1928 she went to St. Louis to be presented by the Alpha Kappa Alpha

Sorority Chapter of that city. Later she was featured in concert at Bennett College for Women in North Carolina.

When home in Washington she would perform at Howard Univer­ sity. Her Howard performances were sponsored by the Physical

Education Department and directed by dance instructor, Violet

B. Warfield.

®®® Ibid.

®®®Freeman, Biography, p. 2

157 Ibid., p p . 2-3 63

In the 1930s Freeman's students were also featured performers around the city. Some of the most popular con­ certs by Freeman's students were presented on the George

Washington Monument grounds before large summer audiences.

While working in the Recreation Department she gave several dramatic dance concerts embracing the dramatic influence.

Overall, she contributed to nearly seventy dance and dramatic productions. It was through her recreation classes that she was able to reach a wider range of black students and foster greater appreciation for dance education. On one occasion

Freeman's advanced students in the recreation classes were enlisted to appear at Constitution Hall to represent the

Colored Girl Scout Troops. Freeman considered this a high­ light in her teaching career because these particular students performed before the First Lady of the Country and other prominent white and black citizens. Not only did they per­ form before a very elite audience, but they performed at an auditorium usually restricted to white performers as well as patrons. Freeman's talents spilled over into the public schools leading her to work with students at Banneker Junior

High School and Monroe Elementary School on various musicals and operettas. In addition, her students presented a series of "cultural hours"®®® throughout the black Washington public schools.

®®® The cultural hours were not explained fully. This writer speculates that these hours were similar to dance demonstrations or mini-performances. 64

The response to Freeman's dance demonstrations and instruction was so successful that her work was incor­ porated into the regular school curriculums in at least three public elementary schools. This action was substan­ tiated by the growing demand for dance instruction in the public school program and the proven flexibility of dance to the school programs. Freeman's technique in choreography with school-age students was explained in the following comments :

Perhaps the most interesting accomplishment that I have made as a teacher in Washington has been the creating of an illusion suggest­ ing the more intricate style of advanced ballet by using large groups of children, as many as sixty or more, working at one time to form so many simplified patterns and fitting them into a more intricate pattern. This was done by working each group into a main plan like so many pieces inserted into a puzzle.®®®

Mabel Freeman realized her work with children de­ manded patience as well as application, but she felt the

results were worth the work. As a result of her patience

and discipline, she was able to instruct the complicated

ballet technique to sizable groups of students in the

schools and the Recreation Department. Freeman's private

studio classes carried the same curriculum as the public

classes, but with more concentration on ballet technique.

Her private studio classes were primarily patronized by

well-to-do black families who could afford to send

®®® Ibid., p . 3 . 65 their children.

In the 1940s Mabel Jones Freeman began an associa­ tion with the Washington Opera Chorus, a chapter of the

National Negro Opera Company. She was invited to present her dance company, the Mabel Jones Freeman Dance Group, in

the 1947 variety musical concert of the Opera C o m p a n y .

According to the program. Freeman's Company of thirteen members performed five pieces with original music scored by Freeman herself. There was no review of this concert, so little is known about the content or quality of the move­ ment. The central theme of her featured choreography was the transition of nature from Spring to Summer to W i n t e r .

From the Mabel Jones Freeman ballet foundation emerged several young Washington dancers such as Bernice

Hammond, Juanita Jones Goodloe, Therrill Smith and Doris

Patterson. These protégés continued to dance and establish new schools based on the Freeman inspiration. There were other lesser known Freeman trained dancers to surface and perform who did not establish schools, such as Myra Alexander,

Betty Johnson and Yvonne Sheppard. Mabel Jones Freeman died around 1967, but her achievements of introducing classical ballet to the black populace in general and dance into the public schools was unequalled.

Interview; Smith.

National Negro Opera Company Program, n.d. 1947.

Ibid. 6 6

Bernice Hammond

One of Freeman's most eager students to continue

teaching dance in the city was Bernice Hammond. Born

around 1919, Bernice Hammond began her formal dance training

in the 1920s with Freeman. As a tot, Hammond recalled in an interview, she was considered by some to be a natural terpsichorean. While training under Freeman, Bernice Hammond became so inspired that while in high school she taught dance to other black children in their homes. Her teachers at

Dunbar High School encouraged and motivated her to not only continue training, but to share her talents with others in the community.

Hammond wanted to receive better training, as most of the eager black dancers did, but found no other dance

studios in the District that publicly availed their services to blacks. Secretly, however, some of the white ballet mistresses of the city would hold private classes after hours

for the promising black ballet students of Washington. These

classes had to be kept secret for two reasons. One, Washington was still a very segregated city during this period, and two,

if the white community ever suspected blacks were attending

classes at these studios, they would take their children

elsewhere, i***

1*3 Interview: Bernice Hammond, March 3 , 1982.

'*" Ibid. 67

Bernice Hammond's professional teaching career was

launched around 1938 with the help of prominent Washington black professionals, Julia West Hamilton and the Kelly Miller

family. She opened her first studio at 1353 U Street, N.W., in the heart of an area of black businesses. Although her

studio was a cultural asset for Washington blacks, not all responded to it positively. According to Hammond, the black press raised the issue of the importance of a "leisure

establishment opening in the black community during economic­

ally strained times."3** By 1941 the Hammond School was well established and ready to present its first major concert.

Rose Garden Fantasy. This event was held on the Elks Lawn

located then at 3rd and Rhode Island Avenue. Following

this success, a second community production was put on by

the Hammond students, A Trip to Make Believeland.

Due to illness, Hammond stopped her involvement in

the black Washington dance scene from 1944 to 1946 and did

not surface again until around 1947. In 1949 after resuming

her activities, she organized the Ballet Africans American.

The troupe made its debut in col]aboration with the National

Symphony Orchestra at the old Washington Uline Arena. This

production received notable accolades from local papers.

The community response was overwhelming, as indicated by

one patron's praise;

Recently Washington's culture-starved Negro populace spent a night at the ballet — classical

Ibid. 68

ballet, conceived and produced by a Negro, performed by Negroes, and dedicated to the end of revealing the Negro's art through the ballet and of expressing the ballet through the art of the Negro. As a negro, I found in the artistry of that dance a wonderful, heart- bursting pride in my people. In the pure fas­ cinating rhythm of the music, accented by the beat of the drum, I caught a fleeting perception of the grandeur and the artistry and the beauty in the soul of Africa.^**

Ms. Hammond's dance curriculum over the years developed through several stages. In the early years of her teaching, primarily when she worked with private students in their homes, Hammond featured posture, social etiquette and grace­ ful walking. When she began formal teaching she expanded her dance instruction to include creative interpretative dancing and Denishawn modern technique. Eventually the dance program included classical ballet, tap and spiritual interpretative movement.Hammond's professional teaching career covered many areas in the city, keeping in line with her philosophy to maintain professional dance training in the black community. She taught classes privately in the homes of prominent black professionals, classes from the basement of her home, other classes at the Phyliss Wheatly

Y.W.C.A. and finally founded the Northeast Academy of Dance on Benning Road.

One of Bernice Hammond's special assignments in the

3**Thelma T. Prevour, "Negro Ballet," The Washington Post, May 27, 1949.

3*’ Interview: Hammond. 69

1950s and 1960s was her association with local social clubs. Ms. Hammond, as were most black dance instructors, was often solicited to coordinate as well as choreograph the debutante cotillions of the black social elite. During these cotillions Hammond would instruct how to waltz, curtsy and exhibited overall gracefulness. The debutante balls were always a highlight in the social season of prominent black Washingtonians.^*®

Doris Nichols Patterson

Doris Nichols Patterson was another ballet dance instructor from the Mabel Jones Freeman school to establish herself in Washington. Born around 1917, Doris Nichols was the daughter of upper middle-class parents. According to

Nichols, her family were direct descendants of the free slaves of George Washington.Doris spent her early childhood days in the Le Droit Park area of the city, which was considered "the part of town to live in for negroes."3?*

Later her family moved to an area suburb called Fairmont

Heights. Her father was considered "lucky," since he held a position as a clerk in the government.

Doris, an only child, was exposed to dancing at an early age. Her parents would engage in dancing as a social activity

^*® Ibid.

^*® Interview: Doris N. Patterson, September 15, 1982.

Ibid. 70 in their home and invite neighbors and friends in to dance.

Inspired by these sessions, young Doris would create dance fantasies of her own. Her passion for creative movement was so great, she recalled, that she would use her front porch as the stage and engage the neighbor children as her performers. As a youngster at Burrville Elementary she was captivated by the assemblies which presented simple choreo­ graphed routines.

When Doris reached junior high school her parents noticed her slumped posture due to her height. Nichols remembered "always being the tallest girl in the class.

In the late 1920s and the 1930s Doris Nichols began study­ ing with Mabel Jones Freeman. Freeman was considered Doris

Nichols' inspiration because she taught her the "basics of ballet." Her fascination with ballet was so overwhelming that during the summer months she would go to New York and study. In most cases she was the only black in the New York classes and considered herself "merely a beginner compared to the ballet dancers in New York."^’^ During the school year at Dunbar, Nichols' only opportunities to perform were in school musical productions and in the language class

folk dances.

After Dunbar High School, Nichols continued her education at Howard University. In 1934, realizing that

Ibid.

Ibid. 71 jobs for blacks were scarce, Nichols decided to teach dance.

She began with only ten students from her neighborhood and taught class in the family parlor for ten cents a lesson.

She held her first dance recital in 1935 at the Elks Home

Ballroom. Nichols and her students were featured on the program of a political fundraiser for her father. Her per­ formances included a variety of dance forms such as tap, ballet, interpretative and ballroom. This initial program was so well received she continued to give recitals every year afterwards. By 1936 her student body grew to about twenty-five young people.

While attending Howard University Doris Nichols was married secretly to her childhood sweetheart against her parents' wishes. Subsequently, she withdrew but later re­ turned in 1937. The physical education program at Howard afforded Doris Patterson further training in dance under the direction of Violet Warfield, who taught Graham technique, and Senia Louis Solomonoff, a Russian ballet master. While at Howard she began teaching volunteer dance classes in several public schools. She then took a position as a clerk typist for Harry Hopkins, assistant administrator of the

W.P.A. When her job terminated at the W.P.A., she learned of a vacancy in the D.C. Department of Recreation for a dance instructor. With a recommendation from Hopkins and Mrs.

Eleanor Roosevelt, Doris was selected over several white candidates for the position. Her first Recreation Department 72

assignment included two recreation centers, Burrville Ele­

mentary and Francis Junior High School, for a salary of

sixty dollars a month. Her student enrollment at both

locations ranged between fifty to seventy-five people.

In 1940 Doris Nichols Patterson left the Recreation

Department and began teaching private lessons in her home.

In 1945 she opened her own studio located at 4126 Minnesota

Avenue, N.E.*^® Patterson's dance curriculum included

"Russian Ballet, Toe, Dance Theory, Modern, Tap, Interpreta­

tive, Spanish and Character Acrobatic.Patterson also

did a "cultural analysis" of each student. What this analysis

involved is not specifically known, but this writer assumes

that Doris determined the dance potential of each prospec­

tive student. Doris also offered a teacher training course whereby each participant received a certificate of merit.

She held classes for men and boys and taught both private

and group lessons. In 1947 Patterson's Dancers were invited

to perform with the National Negro Opera Company.

Doris Patterson, like other promising black dancers, also received training from a select group of white ballet mistresses in the city. Marian Chase and Lisa Gardiner, both very prominent white ballet instructors, offered classes to aspiring black dancers during this period. Patterson

*^3 See Appendix 4 for picture of original 1945 studio. Duplicated and published with expressed permission of Doris N. Patterson.

James T. Terry, Dee Gee Directory: A Business, Pro­ fessional and Social Directory of Negro Washington, 1948, n.p. 73 recalled Marian Chase holding classes for blacks on off days and charged them one dollar for a group lesson and two dollars for a single private lesson. Gardiner would also refer black students to study with Patterson during this time. Patterson acknowledges that she was one of the first instructors to teach ballet to two-year-olds. Mrs. Patterson's studio folded during the 1960s.

Therrill Smith

Therrill Smith, another black pioneer of dance in

Washington, was born around 1919 in Washington, D.C. A product of a prominent black professional family, Therrill

Smith began her formal dance training at age eight with

Mabel Jones Freeman. Freeman was then teaching ballet at the R Street location. During her junior and senior high school days. Smith choreographed dances for many of the school musicals and operettas. She also volunteered her services as a dance instructor for the Southeast Settlement

House.

In 1935 Smith began her college education at Fisk

University in Nashville, Tennessee. While majoring in

Sociology, Therrill continued to work in the dance field.

During the summer months she was a dance instructor at the

Abraham Lincoln Center Camp in Wisconsin and Camp Atwater in Massachusetts.

Therrill Smith School of Dance Program, June 15, 1973, p. 7. 74

After graduation from Fisk, Therrill Smith began

teaching small classes at her sister's LeDroit Park Nursery

School. By 1946 the growth of her student populace enabled

her to begin teaching classes at the Phyliss Wheatly Y.W.C.A.

Annex. In 1948 Smith opened her own studio at 49 Rhode

Island Avenue and presented her first formal dance recital with eight students.i7& After ten years on Rhode Island

Avenue, Smith moved to her present location on Bunker Hill

Road, N .E .

For five consecutive summers, from 1949 to 1953,

Therrill Smith continued training at Ballet Arts in New York.

The height of her training occurred when she went, in 1955,

to Paris, France, to study for eight months with the famous

Prima Ballerina Mathilde Kzchesinska. ^^7

Therrill Smith's greatest contribution to black dance

in Washington was the fact that she made it possible for many public school children to receive some experience in

dance. Smith would have her dance students perform various programs for the culturally deprived public school children.

These performances were held at Cramton Auditorium and were

free of charge. In addition to these free Cramton perform­

ances, Smith ' s students appeared around the city. They were

featured performers at the Sylvan Theatre on the Washington

Monument Ellipse and were hosted by numerous community groups.

37^ Interview; Smith.

377 Ibid. 75

Smith also taught dance classes at several public schools voluntarily. Her overall dance curriculum was primarily ballet and later she added other disciplines such as tap and some jazz. In addition to teaching regular ballet classes. Miss Smith also choreographed debutante cotillions for the Bachelor Benedicts, an elite black social club.

The most noteworthy dancer to emerge from the

Therrill Smith School was Dance Theatre of Harlem's Virginia

Johnson.Virginia began her formal ballet training with

Smith during her kindergarten year. Johnson studied with

Smith until junior high school. At that time she was awarded a scholarship to the Washington School of Ballet.

Upon completion of both the rigorous academic courses, as well as her intensified ballet training, she went to New

York University as a student in the Theatre Arts program.3^®

She then joined Dance Theatre of Harlem and has been a princi­ pal dancer since its inception.

Adrienne Marshall

One of the leading black dancers of the city was

Adrienne Marshall. Not much is known about Marshall's early background except that she hailed from one of the prominent black families. Adrienne was known around the city as one of the leading tap and character dancers and an excellent

37® Therrill Smith Program, p. 5.

379 Ibid. 76

instructor of these f o r m s . 3®°

As far as her formal training in dance, this writer speculates that she studied with Mabel Freeman or

Juanita Jones Goodloe. Goodloe was a student under Freeman who performed with her on certain occasions. She later opened her own school that offered b a l l e t . 3®3 The degree of success of the Juanita Jones Goodloe Studio is unknown.

This writer speculates that it did not reach the same popu­ larity as Freeman's since information or former students were not readily available. After graduation from Dunbar

High School, Adrienne Marshall left the District to attend the popular Sargent School in Springfield, Massachusetts, as a physical education major. When she returned to Washington she began teaching physical education at Francis Junior High.

Marshall was invited by the National Negro Opera

Company to be their choreographer and ballet mistress while performing in the District of Columbia, She was responsible for the dance sequences in Verdi's La Traviata presented at the old Watergate Theatre on August 28, 1 9 4 3 .3*% The Opera y Company received favorable reviews and the dancing was called

"delightful."

In 1959 Marshall opened a dance studio near 15th and

3®“ Interview: Mrs. Herbert Marshall, September 26, 1982

3®3 Interview; Hammond.

382 11^^ Traviata," National Negro Opera Company Program, 1943. 77

R Street, N.W.^®® How long her studio was in operation or

its success is not known. Marshall was mainly known in

Washington, according to her sister-in-law, as a dancer

and choreographer. There is no record of performances by

Marshall or her students, but this writer theorizes she probably did free-lance performances and local musical

theatre engagements. Adrienne Marshall died around 1962.

Doris W. Jones and Claire H. Haywood

The 194 0s saw two newcomers to Washington settle

in the city and establish what was to become the most promi­

nent and professionally-oriented studio for blacks since

Mabel Jones Freeman. In 1941 Doris Winifred Jones and

Claire Helen Haywood established the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet. 3®"

Doris W. Jones was born in Malden, Massachusetts and began her formal classical ballet training with Lulu

Philbrook, a protégé of French dancer and teacher Papperrella,

She remained with Philbrook for about five years, and then

studied modern dance for one year with Mary Stark of Boston.

Following study with Stark, Jones travelled to New York where

she concentrated on the techniques of Martha Graham and "Sur

Le Points" ballet work with Constantine Keoboloff.^®®

183 Interview: Mrs. Marshall.

3®9Washington P o s t , September 28, 1978.

3®*Benefit Recital Program, June 4, 1949, p. 1 78

Doris received a good tap dance foundation from Christy

Shandyham in Boston and learned finesse and style from

Ernest Carlos, a well-known tap dancer and teacher in New

Y o r k .

Claire H. Haywood, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, began her dancing career at age fourteen in her hometown.

At age sixteen, she established her own ballet school for blacks in Atlanta. Haywood received an undergraduate degree in English from Spelman College in 1934, After graduation

Claire left Atlanta and came to Washington. In 1936 she concluded study at Howard university and received a Master's degree. She continued her education in a doctoral program at Catholic University.'®*

Jones came to Washington around 193 8 and began teaching ballet cl&sses for the D.C. Department of Recrea­ tion at Banneker Junior High School. Her student enrollment increased so rapidly that she established her own school.

The Doris W. Jones School of Dance, in 1941. At this time

Haywood had been a student of Doris Jones and soon became her assistant. Eventually they became partners and the name was changed to the Jones-Haywood School of Ballet.

Although Doris Jones was noted as a teacher, she was also a very gifted dancer and choreographer. Her dancing was called "flawless technique and romantic style with great

186 Washington Post, September 28, 1978. 79 emotional and magnetic power."'®7 Her early achievements in choreography included "The Seasons," "Fancy Free," and spiritual dancing to four popular negro spirituals. These spirituals included "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," "Give Me

That Old Time Religion," "You Better Mind," and "I Want

Jesus to Walk with Me."'®®

From 1941 to 1950 Jones and Haywood established a reputation for discipline, rigorous training, and the most professional instruction offered to black Washington dancers, young and old. Their work was so well known in the black circles that many compared their strategies to those of the prominent white National School of Ballet. During this decade they moved to the present studio at 1200 Delafield

Place, N.W. The school curriculum was restricted to classi­ cal ballet and tap.

In 1961 Jones and Haywood founded the Capital Ballet

Company.'®® Many famous students with highly successful dance careers studied under Doris and Claire. Among those were Sandra Fortune, Louis Johnson, George Faison and Chita

Rivera. Jones and Haywood sought to expose their students to the best in ballet. There were weekly classes with Arthur

Mitchell and the Master, George Balanchine. Mr. Mitchell and Balanchine would commute to Washington once or

'®7 Recital Program, p. 1.

'®® I b i d .

10 9 This writer was a member of the apprentice company of the Capital Ballet and remained a member for three years. 80 twice a week to give classes to the apprentice and principal dancers of the Capital Ballet. These sessions were usually four to six week periods.'®®

Miss Jones is still teaching and choreographing, but in September 1978, Miss Claire H. Haywood died of cancer

Howard University Dance Program

At Howard University the Physical Education Depart­ ment offered a variety of courses in dance, including electives for non-majors. According to the Howard Univer­ sity Physical Education Department's objectives: ^

The students who majored in physical education were expected to develop themselves physically, to study the history of the dance and its funda­ mental principles and types of movement, to gain a knowledge of various dance materials for all age levels, to gain ability to read, interpret, review and perform dances, to create original dances and to become proficient in the teaching of the dance.'®'

The physical education majors dance courses in­ cluded a semester of fundamentals and theory of dance and a semester in tap, modern and folk dancing. As for the general student body, elective dance sections offered tap, modern and folk dancing. The aim of most dance courses was the development of a good sense of rhythm and movement, a genuine interest in dance materials, and the ability to

'®“ This information is based on personal experience as the writer was a student in these sessions.

'®'Walter Dyson, Howard University, The Capstone of Negro Education (Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1941), p. 154. 81 motivate the study and reproduction of authentic c o s t u m e s .

According to the 1938-40 Howard University Annual

Report, the University offered many opportunities for students to perform. The University had two dance groups.'®3 The regular dance club was composed of twenty members and held rehearsals on Wednesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The second group, the Ballet Club, had forty members and rehearsed

Saturdays at noon. Students in all of the regular classes, as well as the two student dance clubs, were afforded a variety of opportunities to perform. The folk dance classes gave several programs on the campus. The May Day activities were always events for creative dancing. Many performing arts productions handled by the School of Music also gave the black dancers of Howard moments to execute their talents.

One of the most brilliant dance sequences appeared during the spring of 193 0. The opera, II Travator, was directed by

Kai de Vermond and featured a "Gypsy Ballet" performed by the dancers of Howard.

The Women's Physical Education Department was headed during the 192 0s through 1940s by Maryrose Reeves Allen, a graduate of the Sargent School of Physical Education in

Massachusetts. Under Allen were Frances C. Haddock, who

Ib i d .

'®3 1938-1940 Howard University Annual Reports; College of Liberal Arts (Washington, D.C.: Howard University, 1940), p. 44 .

194 Dyson, Capstone, p. 155. 82 instructed the physical education classes, and Violet

Warfield, who was the dance instructor. Warfield joined the Howard University Faculty in 1927. A graduate of the

Sargent School and Columbia University, she taught the majority of the dance courses in the department.'®* Many of the dance pioneers mentioned earlier in the study either studied or worked with Miss Warfield. Other dance courses, mainly the ballet, were taught by Senia Solomonoff from

Russia.

The dance companies of Howard received favorable response from the black community. The companies were in­ vited to perform lecture-demonstrations on various forms: modern dance, tap, ballet and clogging. The Howard dancers frequently performed in the college auditoriums of Bowie

State Normal School of Maryland and Miner Teacher College with these presentations, and also entertained the public

junior and senior high schools.'®*

By 1945, black dance in Washington had come full circle and had evolved through a variety of dance forms.

'9*1938-40 Annual Reports, p. 47.

'®* Ibid. CHAPTER VI

MAJOR CURRENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

OF BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON

1870-1945 MAJOR CURRENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

OF BLACK DANCE IN WASHINGTON

1870-1945

The period from 1870 to 1945 saw the development of black dance in Washington reach a pinnacle of profes­ sionalism. The dance forms of blacks graduated from the minstrel-vaudeville routines to concentrated classical ballet training and performance. This development dis­ pelled the old argument that blacks were not and could not be classical ballet dancers. It also confirmed the hypo­ thesis that blacks were responsible for the foundation of tap dancing.

The major current effecting blacks and dance in

Washington from 1870 to 18 96 was the minstrel show. The minstrel show presented the only form of dance performed by blacks in a professional stage setting. Beyond the minstrel shows this writer theorizes that dances in the homes or in other social situations were the only other means of performing and creating.

From 1883 to 1928 several influences in the black

Washington community laid the basic foundation for black dancers, teachers, and dance enthusiasts. William H.

84 85

Smallwood was the first known black dance instructor to surface in Washington. The form of dance he taught was not known, but for W.H. Smallwood to initiate a dance school for blacks during the postwar, segregated period of Washington was an accomplishment in itself. This period also embraced the popular of a social dance, derived from slaves, called the "cakewalk." The "cakewalk" was considered a professional form of black dance as well as a social form. The "cakewalk" influenced the city social scene and also launched the professional careers of black

Washington dancers.

Probably one of the most significant developments of black dance in Washington was the erection of the Howard

Theatre in 1910. The Howard Theatre remained a showcase for black musical reviews, black dance teams, and local amateur dancers for nearly fifty years. An appearance at the Howard usually meant a ticket to future work as a professional dancer.

The Howard Theatre served as a recreational, edu­ cational, and professional influence on the black dance community. As a recreational influence it gave the black

Washington audiences an opportunity to enjoy and appreciate the talents of various aspiring dancers. As an educational influence, the Howard Theatre exposed varieties of inter­ twined performing disciplines; dance, music, and acting to the widest range of audiences. The professional influence 86 of the Howard Theatre rested on the fact that if a dancer appeared there, the exposure expedited future work as a professional dancer.

The last period of the study, 1928 to 1945, was the most important as far as professional training in a variety of dance forms. Mabel Jones Freeman is undoubtedly the pioneer of classical ballet training for blacks in

Washington. Freeman reached the greatest number of poten­ tial dancers and established a solid foundation for other black dance instructors who followed. Substantial evidence indicated the majority of black dance schools catered only to the upper middle-class black families.

The Jones-Haywood School of Ballet achieved over­ whelming success in the training of blacks in classical ballet. Through their success black dance students were exposed to several of the greatest ballet masters such as

George Balanchine and Arthur Mitchell. Some of the Jones-

Haywood students to achieve successful dance careers were

Sandra Fortune, Louis Johnson, and Chita Riveria. Doris

Jones and Claire Haywood co-founded the Capital Ballet

Company, the city's first professional black ballet company.

An outgrowth of the ballet school, the Capital Ballet Company produced some of the finest trained dancers and was enthu­ siastically received by the Washington Community. The

Ballet Company has faced serious financial difficulties over the past few years and is now in a state of limbo. 87

Howard University was also very instrumental in the development of black dance. The Physical Education

Department of the university sponsored several performances under the direction of Violet B. Warfield. Warfield, as

Freeman, was instrumental in nurturing and projecting the careers of several black dance instructors. Howard Uni­ versity provided a full dance program for black dance enthusiasts and a variety of performance opportunities.

The 1950s through 1970s saw the interest and development of black dance in Washington soar. Several young black dancers and choreographers emerged offering a variety of dance forms. Melvin Deal and his African

Heritage Drummers and Dancers, Bernard Spriggs and his

D.C. City Ballet, LaVern Reed Dancers and the Bren-Car

Company, are just a few who grew out of the strong founda­ tion constructed by the pioneers of dance in early Washington,

Recommendations

The history of black contributions to dance in

Washington is a varied and significant one. This study only unlocked the doors to an abyss of investigative fields dealing with black dance in Washington prior to 1945. This writer recommends further research in the following areas ; researching and reconstructing the choreography and techni­ que of Mabel Jones Freeman; an in-depth biographical search on Andienne Marshall, Ristina Banks, and Juanita Jones 88

Goodloe and their specific foundations and contributions; gathering information on all dance performances given by the two Howard University dance clubs; securing pictures, reviews and biographical information on the Howardettes; finding reviews of other black dancers that appeared in the District between 1928 and 194 5; investigating whether there were any collaborative dance projects by black choreo­ graphers; finding detailed information concerning the dance form taught by William H. Smallwood; and discovering other black dance instructors before or during the period of William

H. Smallwood. The possibilities for investigation are end­ less. Should further study be pursued, it would provide significant worth to the development and history of black dance in Washington from 1870 to 1945. APPENDIX 1 APPENDIX 1

Black Theatres, Playhouses and Dance Halls in Washington from 1900 through 194 5

Theatres

Foraker Theatre, located at 1112 20th Street, N.W., was

managed by blacks. Patrons were middle-class and

theatre featured vaudeville, dancing girls, and

singers. Capacity seating: 500.

Mid-City Theatre, located at 1200 block of 7th Street,

N.W. Patrons were lower-class, uneducated blacks,

and featured vaudeville and poor standard pictures.

Admission was 20* for clients over ten years old

and free for those under.

The Blue Mouse Theatre, located at 26th and M Street,

N.W. Managed by blacks and featured vaudeville,

pictures, and local amateur talent. Admission was

20* for all patrons and had a seating capacity

of 400.

Alamo Theatre, located in 1200 block of 7th Street.

Featured poor standard vaudeville shows and movies.

Admission was 15* for adults and 10* for children.

90 91

B. Playhouses

Balasco, located on the corner of Lafayette Square and

Madison Place. Managed and owned by the Schubert

Company. Patrons were upper middle-class blacks.

Howard Theatre, located at 7th and T Street, N.W. It

was managed by blacks and patronized by all classes

of black theatregoers. It had a seating capacity

of 1,2 02 and featured vaudeville, black musical

road shows, dancers, singers and big band enter­

tainment. Admission prices ranged from 30* to

$3.00.

Gayety Theatre, located at 511 9th Street, N.W. Catered

to white patrons, but blacks could attend perfor­

mances. Blacks were provided special balcony

seats, with a capacity of 450. Theatre featured

vaudeville shows of all calibre.

C . Dance Halls

Lincoln Colonade, located on U Street, N.W. in the

basement of the Lincoln Theatre. Patronized by

black college fraternities and social clubs.

Admission ranged from 35* to $1.00.

Murray Palace Casino, located on U Street between 9th

and 19th Street. Patronized by prominent black

sororities, fraternities and social clubs of the

city. Admission ranged between 35* to $2.00. 92

St. Mary's and Calvary Churches Dance Halls, located

adjacent to the churches. Available for private

affairs.

Scottish Rite Temple, located at 1631 11th Street,

N.W. Available for private and exclusive affairs

of Scottish Temple members.

Convention Hall, located at 6th and L Street, N.W.

Open to public during holidays. Also available to

lodges, dance promoters and social clubs. Admission

was $1.10. Hours of operation were from 8;30 P.M.

to 3:30 A.M. APPENDIX 2 APPENDIX 2

A List of Negro Recreational Facilities of the District of Columbia in 1940

This list will reflect the dance form offered, the centers where available, and daily schedule.

Form Center Schedule

Aesthetic Banneker Tu, Year Round Barry Farms and Birney F, Sept-June Dunbar Thur, Year Round Francis Daily, Year Round Garfield Daily, Year Round Logan M , Tu, Wed, Year Round Monroe Tu, F, Sept-June Randall M, Year Round Shaw Occasional Walker Thur, Year Round Young-Brown- Phelps-Langston Wed, Year Round

Classical Ballet Banneker Tu, Year Round Burrville Fri, Year Round Dunbar Tu, Year Round Francis Daily, Year Round Howard Wed, Spring-Summer Monroe Tu, Fri, Spring-Summer

Folk Dancing Banneker Tu, Year Round Barry Farms-Birney Thur, Year Round Fenton Play St. Daily, Year Round Garfield Daily, Year Round Howard Daily, Year Round Logan Daily, Year Round Payne Daily, Year Round Rose Park Daily, Occasional Shaw Daily, Sept-June Walker M, Wed, Fri, Sept-June Young-Brown- Phelps-Langston Wed, Year Round

94 95 Form Center Schedule

Social Banneker Occasional Barry Farms Occasional Bowen Occasional Deanwood Occasional Francis Occasional Monroe Occasional Payne Occasional Randall Occasional Young-Brown- Phelps-Langston Occasional

Tap Banneker Burrville Deanwood Francis Howard Monroe Rose Park Shaw Young-Brown- Phelps-Langston

Dance Drama Banneker Tu, Occasional Barry Farms Fri, Sept-June Francis Wed, Occasional Garfield Wed, Year Round Monroe Tu, Year Round Randall Mon, Year Round APPENDIX 3 APPENDIX 3

A Select Listing of Black Dancers Who Appeared at the Howard Theatre from 1940 to 1945*

Song and Tap Dance Acts Variety Dance Acts

Reds n ' Curley Harlem C on go Dancers Slim n' Slam Lindy Hoppers Patterson and Jackson Pitts and Pitts Moke and Poke Four Step Brothers Chocolatiers Whitman Sisters Buck n' Bubbles Barry Brothers Pops n' Louie Howardettes Jesse n ' James Chuck n ' Chuckles Female Solo Tap Dancers Hop, Skip, and Jump Tip, Tap, Toe Juanita Pitts Mabel Lee Male Solo Tap Dancers Edith Gibson

Freddie James Teddy Hale Bill Bailey Raymond Winfield "School Boy" Eddie Ford Peg Leg Bates

*Based on personal recollections of older Washingtonians, Jimmy Slyde, and Howard Theatre records.

97 APPENDIX 4

DORIS N. PATTERSON SCHOOL OF DANCE

1945 99

l a *

# MW«mm# # #

1 mM#m 100

4. V >'■ - k l . - . . DORIS N. PATTERSON SCHOOLS OF DANCE |

4126 Mlnniisnto Avenue, X. E. Phone Victor 1786 :

A NORTHWEST LOCATION FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE

Washington’s Most Complete Dance Education

CLASSES BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Cultural Analysis Given Each Student

R U S S I A N B A L L E T INTERPRETIVE

T O E M O D E R N TAP

DANCE THEORY SPANISH

CHARACTER ACROBATIC

TEACHERS TRAINING COURSE— CERTIFICATE AWARDED

Iy Classes for Men and Roys Group and Trivale Lessons I? BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY

Benefit Recital Program of Doris W. Jones School of Dance, June 4, 1949.

Brazel, Ann. "European Dance Teachers in the United States," Dance Index. New York: Arno Press, 1944.

Brooks, Elaine C. Attitude of the Evening Star Towards Negroes in 1941-42. Washington, D.C.: Howard University, 1945.

Brown, Letitia Woods. Free Negroes in the District of Columbia 1790-1846. New York: Oxford University Press, 1972.

Washington From Banneker to Douglass 1791-1870. Washington, D.C.; National Portrait Gallery, 1972

Washington in the New Era, 1870-1970. Washington, D.C.: National Portrait Gallery, 1972.

Butcher, Margaret. The Negro in American Culture. New York: Knopf, 1972.

1880 Census: District of Columbia, National Archives.

1900 Census: District of Columbia, National Archives.

Coleman, Robert W. First Colored Directory of Baltimore, Maryland with Washington, D.C. and Annapolis, Maryland Annex, 1918-1919. Baltimore, Maryland: 1919.

D.C. City Directory, Columbia Historical Society.

Directory of Recreational Facilities for Negroes in the District of Columbia. Community Center and Playgrounds Department, 1940.

Delerma, Dominque-Rene. Black Music in Our Culture. Kent State University Press, 1970.

Dyson, Walter. Howard University, The Capstone of Negro Education. Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1941. 102 103

Emery, Lynn Pauley. Black Dance in the U.S. 1619-1970. Palo Alto, California: National Press Books, 1972.

Fletcher, Tom. 100 Years of the Negro in Show Business. New York: Burdge & Co., 1954.

Freeman, Mabel Jones. Biographical Brief. Howard University, Washington, D.C.

Friedman, I.K. "The Colored People - Condition of the Negro Race in the National Capital." Washington Star, December 16, 1902.

Gardiner, Bettye and Thomas, Bettye. "The Cultural Impact of the Howard Theatre on the Black Community." The Journal of Negro History, October 1970.

Gass, Mercedia V. Blacks in Washington, 1800-1865. Washington, D.C.: Howard University, 1975.

Gordon, William A. "Recollections of a Boyhood in Georgetown." Columbia History Society; Washington, D.C., 1902.

Green, Constance McLaughlin. The Secret City - A History of Race Relations in the Nation's Capital. Princeton, New Jersey, 1967.

Hammond, Bernice. Interview at Northeast Academy of Dance, March 3, 1982.

Handy, W.C. "The Negro's Contribution to American Musical Literature." Handy Brothers Music Co. New York: n.d.

Haynes, G.E. The American Negro: In Detroit and Washington;- New York: Arno Press, 1969.

Hilyer, Andrew F. Union League Directory. Washington, D.C., 1901.

^938-40 Howard University Annual Reports: College of Liberal Arts. Washington, D.C.: Howard University, 1940.

Howard University Hilltop. February 15, 1924.

Ingle, Edward. The Negro in the District of Columbia. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins Press, 1971.

Jones, William H. Recreation and Amusement Among Negroes In Washington, D.C. Westport, Connecticut; Negro Universities Press, 1927. 104 Marshall, Mrs. Herbert. Interviewed by phone, September 26, 1982.

Patterson, Doris N. Interviewed at home, Washington, D.C., September 15, 1982.

Patterson, Shirley E. Interviewed at home, Washington, D.C., September 1982.

Ploski, Harry A. and Marr, Warren. The Afro-American: The Negro Almanac. New York: Bell Company, 1976.

Prevour, Thelma T . "Negro Ballet." The Washington Post, May 27, 1949.

Report of the Board of Trustees of the Schools of the Colored Children of Washington and Georgetown. Washington, D.C.: Judd and Detweiter, 1870.

Slyde, Jimmy and Chaney, Lon. Interviewed at Ford 's Theatre, Washington, D.C., October 9, 1982.

Smith, Henderson. "The Passing Negro Minstrel." Howard's American Magazine, October 1900.

Smith, Therrill. Interviewed at her home, Washington, D.C., May 4, 198 2.

Southern, Eileen, The Music of Black Americans...A History. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1971.

Terry, James T. Dee Cee Directory - A Business, Professional and Social Directory of Negro Washington - 194 8. Washington, D.C., 1948.

The Washington Bee. Washington, D.C. Issues 1883-1920.

Washington, Dan. "The Art of Cake Walking." n.p., n.d.

Williams, George W. A History of the Negro Race in America. New York: Bergman Publishers, 1883.

Wittke, Carl. Tambo and Bones. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1930.