Dance History

During his career Dr. Neal had 50 publicaitons and 85 presentations nationally and internationally. His research on Hemsley Winfield was presented to students and faculty at Hofstra University, Marymount Manhattan College, San Diego Mesa College, SUNY Purchase, and the Lehigh Valley High School for the Performing Arts. Some of his other research was presented at congresses in Brussels, Belgium, Jyväskylä, Finland, Heidelberg, Germany, and New York City. 

These two books about Hemsley Winfield were the culmination of more than 30 years of research. He began his research after meeting Joe Nash, Dance Historian and former dancer, in 1991 at the “Black Tradition in American Modern Dance Project” held at Duke University. He had been selected as one of 25 faculty nationwide as a National Endowment for Humanities Fellow to attend the 6-week dance project.  

The Dancers Club of New York City: 1929-1934

Nelson D. Neal, Ed.D.

© 2021

Journal of Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, 42(1), p 61-85. 

If you are unfamiliar with the Dancers Club of New York City from the 1930s, it probably is not what you think the name suggests. It was not a social dance club where people went to dance and drink and forget about the horrible situation of the great depression, nor was it something akin to vaudeville and character dancing venues where one went for amusement and laughter for an hour or so. This was a home for serious professional concert and stage dancers who were feeling the brunt of the economic, social, and emotional depression at its lowest point in United States history. These professional dancers needed a roof over their heads with a place to sleep, food to eat, and any kind of work to earn even a meager living. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for people during the Great Depression; how they existed from day to day, or what it must have been like to be out of work with little or no money for rent and food.

Between 1932 and 1933 the average income of an American family was between $125 and $208 per month.[1] Of course, this was for people who had jobs, not dancers and other professionals in the arts who were out of work. In 1932 in the industry of recreation and amusement, which included musicians, actors and dancers, the average monthly salary of all employees, those fulltime workers, was $80.83. Unfortunately, dancers, actors and musicians were not employees of any theater and for salary computations were not always listed as employees.[2] For 1932, if you multiply the median monthly rent of $25, in a multiple family dwelling, such as an apartment house, then full time workers in the recreation and amusement industry had only $54.17 left for food and other monthly living expenses. That means that dancers, actors and musicians had even less money on which to live; this was an extremely difficult time to be a performing artist.

Today, people who support the fine and performing arts think it’s terrible that art, music, theater, and dance programs are continually being cut from school curricula across the country because of lack of funds, and that government funding is much less than it has ever been. However, we still have some government support for the performing arts, unlike during the depression when anything unrelated to basic living generally wasn’t thought about and usually was not supported or funded. However, in 1935 President Roosevelt created the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and “over its eight years of existence, the WPA put roughly 8.5 million Americans to work. Perhaps best known for its public works projects, the WPA also sponsored projects in the arts – the agency employed tens of thousands of actors, musicians, writers and other artists.”[3]

During the great depression, from the late 1920s through much of the 1930s, many businesses were scaled back or closed and hundreds of thousands of people were out of work. When it came to the plight of dancers in New York City one writer summed it up this way.

“Few occupations have been hit harder than the theatrical one and the dancers have felt the slump perhaps hardest of all. Everybody has to have food, clothes and shelter, but one can live a long time without seeing anybody dance. And though seemingly the worst singers can get radio work, even the best dancers cannot hope to, till television is perfected. So, the career of a pretty young dancer is a precarious one, causing dancers and dancing pupils to be continually wishing for a cheap, clean and safe place to live and eat.”[4]

In February of 1929 Margaret Severn, an internationally acclaimed dancer, and Mr. Richard Silvester, a theatrical producer and writer, organized and promoted The Dancers’ Club of New York City.[5] The purpose of the club was “to provide a business, social and residential headquarters for professional dancers, teachers and students of dancing.”[6] It was a great idea, but support would probably have been difficult to find when most people could barely support themselves, let alone others. Although Margaret Severn was only 28 years old when she first became involved in the Dancers Club, she had been involved in dance for some time and had been described as “the very clever dancer who appeared with the Benda Masks in the Greenwich Village Follies of 1920.”[7] Richard Silvester had written “The New Art of the Photoplay-Dramatist,” about screen writing, that appeared in The Drama: A Quarterly Review in 1918.[8] As they discovered they just needed to ask the right people, who they already knew, to get involved and help the dancers and the Dancers Club.

Mr. Silvester had convinced John D. Rockefeller to rent a large, unused old brown-stone-front house at 347 West 56th Street to the girls. They turned the old building into their home, that cost them almost nothing. It needed between $1000 and $1500 worth of work to make it livable, so the girls scraped and varnished the wood floors, painted the walls and an old upright piano they had gotten for free, hung draperies they had made, maintained the building’s furnace so they would not have to pay for the labor to fix the building. Some of the necessary equipment and supplies for the work were loaned and some materials were donated, however many items were purchased second-hand at a much-reduced price. They purchased beds, matrasses, and several Deauville tables and chairs from an out of business restaurant that only cost $2.20, and they purchased carpeting for the stairs in the building for $2.98 from a church that was to be demolished. They also did their own cooking, cleaning and laundry.[9]  

During the first year, 1929, there were 80 Dancers Club members with 12 full-time residents who managed their new home. Unfortunately, after one year, the building was to be demolished and the girls had to move. With the help of their patrons they found a larger building at 24 West 54th Street. The draw back was the rent had increased substantially from their first home. On the plus side the building had room for 30 young women to split the cost of the rent instead of the original 12. Ages of the girls ranged from 17 to 22 but they had accommodated some as young as 14. The house rules were pretty standard such as no cooking in rooms, no playing of musical instruments or singing after 12 and no visitors after midnight. Also, male callers had to meet in the studio, reception room, or restaurant and they were never allowed above the second floor.[10]

The cost of a room for a week ranged from $7 to $12 and a meal plan was $7.50 per week for breakfasts and dinners. “Individual lunches (very sustaining, too) go for 35 cents, and there are three types of individual dinners: a 50 cent dinner – with meat thrown in (for girls who expect to be out of work pretty soon); and finally, a dinner with everything from soup to the modern equivalent of nuts – whatever it may be (for girls who are working).”[11] A formal housewarming was set for November 23, 1930 at which time a reception and tea were held.[12] The reception committee and sponsors included a veritable who’s who in dance; Ruth St. Denis, Agnes de Mille, Dorsha, Margaret Severn, Adolph Bolm, Patricia Bowman, Anton Dolin, Anna Pavlova, Nikolai Semenoff, Charles Weidman, Ted Shawn, Leonide Massine, Harriet Hoctor, Von Grona, Messmore Kendall, Yeichi Nimura, and many more.[13] Most of these people were professional artists who were fortunate enough to be performing during the depression and who wanted to keep their art alive by supporting the young dancers during this difficult time.

Of course, the names listed above that appear most often in dance history texts will immediately stand out but there may also be a few personalities that are not as well-known. Yeichi Nimura, was a “dancer, choreographer, teacher and founder of New York's Ballet Arts School. He had been a student of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. He danced in operas, operettas and musicals, as well as choreographing several musicals, including the 1946 “Lute Song” on Broadway.”[14]  

“Patricia Bowman began her career when there were no major American ballet companies and was a founding member of the American Ballet Theater and a ballerina at the Radio City Music Hall. She became a protegee of Mikhail Fokine, who choreographed solos for her. When Radio City Music Hall opened in 1932, she was appointed its prima ballerina and she continued to perform there occasionally until the early 1950's.”[15]

Nikolai Semenoff was a Russian born dancer who had been the ballet master of the Imperial Moscow Theatre and later joined Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe as an administrator for Mikhail Fokine. He moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he opened the Imperial Russian School of the Dance. Interestingly, it is written that “his livelihood was threatened by the Depression and the vogue of modern dance” and that he committed suicide by jumping off Niagara Falls in 1932.[16] His sponsorship of the Dancers’ Club was short lived.

Finally, a sponsor from outside the dance world was Messmore Kendall who held two law degrees and two doctoral degrees. He was admitted to both the Montana and New York bar associations in the 1890s and was a member of the Kendall & Herzog law firm. He built the Capitol Theater in New York in 1917, which seems to be his only connection to the performing arts. He was also the Director of Metro-Goldwyn Pictures Corporation as well as numerous chairmanships, presidencies and board positions for corporations.[17] It was well connected patrons and sponsors like Mr. Kendall who could give the kind of support that the Dancers Club needed.

Over the years there were numerous recitals and festivals that generated money for the Dancers Club relief fund. As early as 1930 Carola Goya gave a dance recital at Carnegie Hall to benefit the Dancers Club.

For her performance she “had the stage of Carnegie Hall set differently from the usual custom. The back draperies will be just behind the proscenium arch, thereby obscuring the cavernous spaces in the rear in which a single dancer often is almost lost to view. She will give her program on the very deep ‘apron’ of the stage, thus coming into more intimate relationship with the audience, something quite desirable in an auditorium as large as Carnegie Hall. The lighting will come from upper lamps specially installed in upper tier boxes near the stage.”[18]

These were two new and innovative ideas for a dance production at the time. 

More money was raised for the Dancers Club through other benefits including a series of five Tuesday evening recitals from February 24 through March 24, 1931. The series was performed at the private theatre of Gluck-Sandor and Felicia Sorel at 105 West 56th Street. During the series there was an exhibition of artwork by dancers about the dance which included Margaret Severn, Felicia Sorel, Sophia Delza and Ruth Florens.[19] It would be wonderful and a great addition to the history of dance, if some of this artwork by these and other dancers about dancing, could be found and shared with the dance community today.

The dancers performing in the first recital of the series were Ronny Johansson and the Elsa Findlay Group. “The program included ‘La Dance’ of Debussy, ‘Waltz’ by Strauss, ‘Javanese Impressions’ and ‘Alla Marcia’ by Rachmaninoff.”[20] Pauline Koner performing “‘Dance in a Religious Spirit,’ and ‘Beginning;’ music by Peterkin.”[21] Esther Junger performing ‘Go Down Death,’ read by the author, James Weldon Johnson.”[22] Sophia Delza gave her second performance for the Dancers Club, unfortunately no dance titles were listed.[23] The finale performance in the series was by Gluck-Sandor and group, which was the first performance they had given in two years.[24] Through these benefit concerts for the Dancers Club the professional dancers, who were having some financial success during the depression, were able to support the less fortunate young dancers and dance teachers.

Something strange was going on in the early 1930s concerning one day of the week when these professionals were not allowed to perform because of a blue law that prohibited dance performances on Sundays. This practice was extremely unfair to dancers and dance companies and would be challenged.

“The city ordinances prohibiting Sunday shows will face a test today when the managers of two Broadway playhouses served with summons last night appear in West Side Court to answer complaints of the Sabbath Day Committee that they permitted performances to be staged in their theatres Sunday night. Plain clothes policemen attended the shows and served the summons. The theaters visited were the Craig Theatre, where Harold Kreutsberg and Yvonne Georgi were dancing and the Guild Theatre, where Paul Haakon, was making his American dance debut.”[25]  

On advice of counsel Margaret Severn also postponed her performance at the Hampden Theater “pending the outcome of the trial.”[26] She was to perform with Robert Stone in a duet in Grieg’s, ‘In the Hall of the Mountain King,’ and her solo numbers were to be ‘Etude,’ ‘Valse’ and ‘Scherzo’ by Chopin, and a ‘Hungarian Ballade,’ by Bartok.[27]  

A year later a committee of well-known New York women sponsored benefits for the Concert Dancers League to raise money to support their efforts “to promote an amendment to the State blue laws permitting dance concerts on Sunday. The present law imposes a heavy fine on dance concerts, although vocal and instrumental concerts are allowed. This results in a handicap to the dancers; inasmuch as adequate theaters are only available on Sunday evenings.”[28]

Benefit performances and events for the Dancers Club continued to occur with “Ruth Page and Blake Scott and dancers performing at the Booth Theater in 1932 with Louis Horst as their accompanist.”[29] Horst had been the music director for the Denishawn dance company before becoming the music director for Martha Graham’s company. Agna Enters had postponed her benefit dance performance for the Dancers Club, from December 1932 until January 1933 at the Guild Theater so as not to conflict with the large Mecca Temple benefit event. In her performance she included “an ambitious new work, a sequence in eleven parts, entitled ‘Pagan Greece.’ Her other dances included: “Promenade, Field Day, Moyen Age, Queen of Heaven, Auto Da Fe, and Contra-Dance.”[30]

The Mecca Temple benefit performance, for the Dancers Club, was scheduled for December 11, 1932. The theater opened in 1923 for the Shriners and was taken over by the city during the financial crash of 1929. The name changed to the New York City Center when Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia officially opened it as Manhattan’s first performing arts center in 1943.[31] The event was to be the largest and grandest benefit event of its kind.

“Practically every dancer in America this winter will appear in a single ensemble picture upon the stage of the Mecca Temple. It is hoped that the title, ‘The Greatest Dancing Show in History,’ may be fully justified. The objective which brings the leaders of the dance world together on this occasion is to rescue the Dancers Club from the ravages of depression and concurrent distress.”[32] Unlike other benefit performances this one included dancers and groups from all genres.

A partial “list of performers who have already promised an appearance at the Dancers Club benefit program include Ruth St. Denis, Fowler and Tamara, Harriet Hoctor, Chester Hale Ensemble, Felecia Sorel, Dorsha, Grace Cornell, Lisa Parnova, Carola Goya, Tina Flads, Hans Wiener, Gertrude Hoffman, Edwin Strawbridge, Alex Yakovleff, Charlotte Ayres, Louise Brown, Elsa Findlay Ensemble, Helen Jackson Girls, Sara Mildred Strauss group and Peggy V. Taylor group.”[33] 

Also, Hemsley Winfield was to speak over radio station WPCH,[34] publicizing the Dancers’ Club benefit and that he and his dancers would perform two of his pieces of choreography.[35] Not only did this event keep the Dancers Club running it was a great tribute to all forms of dance and, in my mind, a great boost to the new art form of modern dance. Other notable performers were Gluck-Sandor, Martha Graham, Ruth St. Denis, Charles Weidman and ballerina Maria Gambarelli. Gambarelli was a well-known prima ballerina at the time and her photo appeared in one newspaper announcing her participation in the benefit performance.[36] She was the first dancer to perform on television in 1929, which was only introduced in the United States in 1928.[37]  

John Martin, dance critic for the New York Times, wrote a special column about the Dancers Club Benefit at the Mecca Temple Theater.

“There has been scarcely a benefit within memory for any purpose that has not profited by the generous services of the dancers. Now that the dancers’ own organization has its financial problems it is confidently expected that the services of others will be generously given. If there should be those, however, who find themselves unmoved by the welfare of the dancers, the show itself should provide something of an incentive to cooperate. It is of such proportions that even the most blazé must pause to note.”[38]  

The stage was managed by Ned Wayburn, a choreographer and innovator in tap dance who, later in his career, taught Fred and Adele Astaire tap dance. During the evening he was assisted by Ruth St. Denis and Mikhail Fokine, both of whom were performing in the event. The styles of dance listed to be performed were “ballet dancing, Italian and Russian; theatrical dancing, tap and acrobatic; ‘modern’ dancing, German and American; group dancing ranging all the way from ‘abstract’ to ‘precision’; national dancing, Balinese, Spanish, Indian and Negro; and so on for an indefinite itemization.”[39] The long list of solo, duet and group performers for the evening was well over 50. The benefit was “to conclude with a huge pageant called ‘The World Today and Tomorrow’ in which all the dancers who have appeared earlier on the program will unite.”[40]   

“Charles D. Isaacson acted as master of ceremonies and at various times during the evening turned the honor over to members in the entertainment field. Among those taking part were the alluring Felicia Sorel and Blake Scott in the ‘Fire Ritual; from ‘El Amor Brujo’ and Bill Robinson in his perfect soft shoe dance; the piquant Tina Flada and the modernistic Charles Weidman; Mirian Marmein as a sailor on his maiden voyage and Pearle Regay and Jose Shalita in an authentic Moorish Bolero; Gertrude Hoffman in a travesty of the modern expressionalistic [sic] dances, and Harry Losee in a ‘Marche Revolutionaire’[sic] and so on.”[41]  

It was noted that the theater was completely sold out. Even young dance students enrolled in the Marie LeBrun School of the Dance, on Long Island, made the trip over to Manhattan to attend the concert.[42] What a grand spectacle it must have been with all those young dancers and choreographers who went on to have illustrious careers. I believe that everyone who attended must have been uplifted from the doldrums of the depression even if only for a few hours.

The Dancers Club hosted, supported, and organized special events and benefits, with various groups in New York City, in support of other individuals and groups in the dance community and within other arts disciplines. The Club sponsored instruction in dancing for children,[43] held teas for members of the Dancing Masters of America, which included a lecture about costumes from the Orient,[44] and a lecture on ‘The Poetry of the Dance.’[45] The Club also hosted exhibitions of the scenic designs of Ted Weidhaas, scenic and costume designer Marco Montedoro of the Roxy Theater, who spoke on ‘Pictorial Art and the Dance’[46] and designer Raoul Pene du Bois who displayed masks, costumes and scenic designs.[47] Another afternoon tea was hosted by Maude Madison, an American actress and dancer, which included a talk on Chinese art by Mr. Rosner, a collector of Chinese antiques, and Beatrice Maude, her daughter, of ‘The Show Off’ company who read several Chinese poems in costume and Camella Norea who performed a Chinese dance. Ruth St. Denis was to be the guest of honor at the event.[48] Another exhibition they sponsored was of lithographs and paintings of well-known dancers and of dance subjects acquired by Eugene C. Fitch[sic].”[49] Fitsch was a French American artist whose works illustrated life in the theater, and in dance during the depression. Images of his dance and theater works can be found on the Internet.[50] The Dancers Club also supported the Shakespeare repertory by giving “Sunday afternoon and evening dance recitals, concerts and operas,” headed by Julius Hopp, managing director.[51]  

On January 18, 1931 Margaret Severn gave her first dance recital which was under the management of the Dancers Club. Her program, at the Longacre Theater, featured new works as well as works from her mask group of dances, for which she was well known.[52] Her dances and masks included a grotesque piece titled ‘Shriek,’ and a group mask piece about six moods.”[53] Other dances included ‘Hurdy Gurdy,’ ‘The Dagger,’ and a  dance interpretation of three metaphysical poems by Dr. Sum Nung Au-Young. Miss Severn spoke and danced the poems simultaneously.”[54] Photographs of many of her wonderfully expressive masks may be seen on the Internet.[55]

Before Ms. Severn made her own masks, she used masks made by Wladysław Teodor Benda. Benda “was a Polish-American painter, illustrator, and designer. Benda is best known for creating masks for various dance and theatrical productions, including works by Eugene O’Neil and Noël Coward, and the film The Mask of Fu Man Chu. His masks ranged from the grotesque and the fantastic, to the highly stylized and the beautiful.”[56]

The Dancers Club, along with Ruth St. Denis, Felicia Sorrell, Gluck-Sandor, Mikhail Mordkin, Dorsha, and The Dancers League of America were also “Patrons of the dance world who have interested themselves in the promotion of the school of Negro dance.”[57] This was in reference to the dance school and Negro dance group established by Hemsley Winfield, the first African American modern dancer. He and his group also gave benefit performances in New York City theaters from 1931-1933 including for the Junior Artist Scholarship, the Jobless Fund, Colored Citizens Relief Fund and the Dancers Club. Hemsley Winfield was contracted by the Metropolitan Opera to choreograph and dance the role of the Congo Witch Doctor in The Emperor Jones opera for their 1933 season.[58] 

It’s amazing that a young black dancer/choreographer, in this new style of dance, would be doing well enough to give benefit performances to help other people in need. The Dancers Club and the Folk Festival Council also presented a program representing dances of many countries, to help the Music School. One of the features was Hemsley Winfield and his Negro concert dance group performing his choreography to W. C. Handy’s St. Louis Blues.[59] The use of jazz music was new and innovative for modern dance at the time and Winfield may have been the first modern dancer to choreograph to jazz music. Interestingly in 1928, officials of the American Society of Teachers of Dancing stated: “what the American dance needs is a new rhythm – something more lively than the dance tunes of today. There will be no real originality in the modern dance until a different music is provided.”[60] This may have been in reference to the new social dances rather than concert modern dance.

In 1933 Frances Rockmore, a reporter for the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, interviewed Ruth St. Denis about her thoughts on the current status of modern dance in America and the Dancers Club role. She said that dance had been a gypsy and it needed to have a home, a sanctuary of its own.

“‘Today we are in the dark ages of art,’ Miss St. Denis says severely. ‘America is going through a period of materialism, sensuality. Our stage is glorifying immortality. Dance in the program theaters has youth and gayety, technique, perhaps, but is devoid of poetry, or art or beauty. The cultural level of America is low, as it is always low in times of stress. It will only rise when the taste of the people rises. And one of the best ways, to do this is to give them an opportunity to see beauty. A museum of the dance would do this. Just look what a home has done for the dancers themselves,’ she says. In the last three years dancers who come to New York have had a home they can call their own here where they can make contacts, invite their friends, practice, for a nominal cost.’”[61]  

The demand for dancers had increased and through the free employment bureau, the club found positions for 200 dancers, which was almost a 50% increase from their usual number.[62]  Another large benefit by the Dancers Club, under the direction of Ruth St. Denis, was a “‘Spring Frolic’ dance recital, ball” and midnight supper cabaret to be held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.[63]  A junior committee was also formed which made sense since the patrons and sponsors probably didn’t have the time to plan and set up the event. Miss Anne Simpson was the chairman of the junior committee for the ball with nine other members.[64] The event must have been quite special as it was publicized at least nine times from May 5th through the performance date of May 19th in at least two different New York newspapers. The concert portion that opened the proceedings included “dancers of international repute . . . performing traditional and modern dances of their respective countries, which will include Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the Orient.”[65] The supper and cabaret were to begin at midnight. Some of those dancing in the show included: Maria Gambarelli, Harriet Hoctor, Gertrude Hoffman, Fowler and Tamara, Pauline Koner, Felicia Sorel, Gluck-Sandor, the Tamaris group, Ayres and Rene, and Ruth St. Denis.[66] Also, Adler and Bradford, Alberto De Lima, Tony and Renee de Marco, and Carola Goya were to perform.[67] Sponsors of the event were professional artists as well as men and women of social prominence including Tallulah Bankhead, Lynn Fontanne, Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Tibbett, a President of a theater, a banker, a Princeton University Professor, and the largest landowner in the US. The admission charge of $2 per person went to the Dancers’ Club fund.[68] One week prior to the Spring Frolic there was to be “an exhibition of paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints relating to the dance in the art gallery of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.”[69] The exhibition opened one week before the dance performance and remained a part of the Spring Frolic event.

From Anne Simpson’s inauspicious start assisting in the benefit for the Dancers Club she went on to become a notable dancer. She was a ballet and Spanish dancer[70] whose parents were “of Welsh, Irish and Spanish extraction.”[71] Her father, Kenneth Simpson was the Republican committee chairman for the state of New York.[72] “She made her dancing debut as a falling leaf in a children’s ‘Spring Festival.’”[73] Her mother had taken her to see a Pavlova ballet when she was three years old and she made up her mind that she wanted to wear a stiff white skirt and to dance like Pavlova.[74] She continued to plan and perform in benefit concerts performing a Spanish dance for a benefit for the Adoption Nursery.[75] She was chair of another junior committee in 1936 which helped in planning the entertainment program provided by stage and screen stars in a charity event for the Goddard Neighborhood Center.[76] In 1942 she participated in a benefit, held at Carnegie Hall, for the Russian War Relief with 13 other dancers including Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Ruth St. Denis, and Bill Robinson. The committee for that festival included such notables as George Balanchine, Agnes De Mille, and Lincoln Kirstein.[77] Ticket prices ranged from 83 cents to $11.[78]  

Anne Simpson also danced for the Metropolitan Opera[79] and she was once described as the premiere danseuse of the company.[80] In 1944 she gave a performance in East Hampton, NY. “Anne Simpson, beautiful American specialist in the Spanish dance performed the classic Bolero, the dances of Madrid in the Gay 90’s, folk dancing of Northern Spain and Mexico. The last part of her program will be the interpretative dance done to modern Spanish music.”[81]

In December 1933, the Dancers Club held a week-long exhibition of Fifty Photographs of the Dance by Arnold Genthe. As a first-time event, to be held in New York City, the exhibition included nearly all the schools of dance and many of the leading figures in the contemporary dance world. Mr. Genthe spoke on Photography and the Dance.[82] Genthe was an extremely well-known photographer and had a long list of famous people who sat or posed for him. Some of the most well-known dancers were Anna Pavlova, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis. Other notable personalities included Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, John D. Rockefeller, Greta Garbo, Sarah Bernhardt, Jack London, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and many more too numerous to list.[83]  Many of the photographs of these and other people can be seen on the Genthe website.

         Also, in 1933 the then secretary of the Dancers’ Club, Mercedes de Cordoba, performed in a recital with Muriel Fujino. Cordoba’s career began in the early 1900s as an actress in “As You Like It,”[84] “Julius Caesar”[85] and she sang in the musical “Chin Chu Chow.”[86] She was well known as a mezzo soprano and a pianist[87] and she and her brother, Pedro de Cordoba, played piano and violin for a charity concert at Carnegie Hall.[88] Ms. De Cordoba was also a painter and exhibited her paintings at the Bronxville Motion Picture Theater. She had also exhibited in San Remo, Italy and in Paris.[89] All of the people mentioned above were extremely helpful and supportive of the Dancers Club and their endorsement gave the young girls living at the Dancers Club, role models and inspiration to succeed in dance.  

During the first couple of years the girls who lived in the club house did their own cooking, however in 1933 Miss Barbara Fall was hired as the resident manager and dietitian for the young women. Miss Fall claimed the foods she prepared for the dancers added “to their agility and to their looks; boiled and broiled meats, fresh vegetables cooked in the most scientific manner, fruit, gelatins and home-made ice cream.”  She also had to “manage the many artistic temperaments that come to live under her roof.” She tells how it took many months to subdue Nijinsky’s daughter’s towering ego “to the point of peaceful association with the girls.” It apparently helped when Miss Fall “discovered that the child’s favorite color was yellow and took the trouble to redecorate her room in that color with marvelous results.”[90] One of the officers of the club was a professional psychologist whose title was “vocational counsel.” He helped the girls work out their personal problems and gave public success talks every week.[91]  

Members and supporters of the Dancers Club did not always give money to support the young dancers and dance students. Harriet Hoctor gave homemade sofa pillows and ballet slippers as Christmas gifts.

“Harriet, who believes in making as many gifts as possible, is spending her leisure hours in the interesting home-work of revamping the 700 pairs of high kid boots she has worn this past year into presents. She cuts off the tops of these kid boots and makes gorgeous sofa pillows out of them by having the kid dyed rich lemon yellows, delicate lime green, grape and raspberry shades. The bottoms, the slipper parts which are in good condition, Miss Hoctor sends to the Dancers’ Club for those aspiring ballerinas who cannot afford new slippers each week. Thus, she not only makes pretty gifts for her personal friends but generously offers other girls a real chance to be in Harriet Hoctor’s shoes!”[92]  

It seems clear that the Dancers Club of New York City met its objective of supporting young dancers, dance teachers and other artistic professionals during this economic low point in American history. It is also clear that the Dancers Club could not have managed without the help and benefit performances given by the large number of professional dancers from those whose careers were already established such as Ruth St. Denis and Anna Pavlova to the newcomers such as Martha Graham and Hemsley Winfield. The Dancers Club also gave visual and performing artists, stage and film stars, and business men and women a cause to support that they believed was necessary for society to see beauty during a time when, as Ruth St. Denis said, “The cultural level of America is low, as it is always low in times of stress.”[93]  

It is unclear as to what became of the organization and its home. Historically the Great Depression is listed as beginning in October 1929 and ending in 1939. Up to this printing the author has not found any information such as programs, announcements, reviews, correspondence or newspaper articles about the Dancers Club of New York City after February 1934. Anyone who has information about the Dancers Club, its members, sponsors, or dancers is welcome to contact the author with further information.    

Endnotes

[1] “Great Depression,” Great Depression, Venturio Media, LLP, Accessed September 23, 2019, http://great-depression-facts.com/

[2] “National Income 1929-1932,” Fraser, Accessed September 23, 2019, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/title/971

[3] “Works Progress Administration (WPA),” History, Accessed September 27, 2019. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/works-progress-administration.

[4] “How They Started ‘The Dancers Club,’ Albany Times Union, March 19, 1932, 3.

[5] “Music News and Gossip,” New York Evening Post, February 14, 1930, 13.

[6] “Dancers Open New Quarters,” Billboard, December 6, 1930, 13.

[7] “Dance Recitals Tomorrow,” New York Evening Post, March 16, 1929, M7.

[8] “The Drama Magazine.” Accessed September 27, 2019.  https://archive.org/stream/dramamagazin191808dramuoft/dramamagazin191808dramuoft_djvu.txt  

[9] “How They Started ‘The Dancers Club,’ Albany Times Union, March 19, 1932, 3.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid.

[12] “Dancers’ Club Moving,” Billboard, November. 22, 1930, 45.

[13] “Dancers Open New Quarters,” Billboard, December 6, 1930, 13.

[14] “Yeichi Inamura, Dancer, Choreographer, Teacher,” New York Times, April 5, 1979. Accessed July 29, 2019.

[15] Anderson, J. (1979, April 27). Patricia Bowman, a Ballerina Who Linked Two Eras of Dance, New York Times, B8.

[16] “Encyclopedia of Cleveland History,” Accessed September 25, 2019. https://case.edu/ech/articles/s/semenoff-nikolai-prokofievitch.

[17] “Messmore Kendall,” https://prabook.com/web/messmore.kendall/1072135, 2019. Accessed October 2, 2019.

[18] “Goya Will Dance on ‘Apron’ of Carnegie Hall,” New York Sun, March 19, 1930, 24.

[19] “Recitals for the Dancers Club,” New York Evening Post, February 17, 1931, 16.

[20] “Dance Recitals,” New York Evening Post, February 24, 1931, 17.

[21] “Pauline Koner Dance Recital,” New York Evening Post, March 3, 1931, 14.

[22] “Music News and Gossip,” New York Evening Post, March. 17, 1931, D4.

[23] “Music News and Gossip,” New York Evening Post, March 10, 1931, 19.

[24] “Francesca Braggiotti and Others in Dance Recitals,” New York Evening Post, March 21, 1931, I12.

[25] “Court Test Faced by Sunday Shows,” New York Evening Post, January 20, 1930, 18.

[26] “Margaret Severn to Dance at Carnegie Hall,” New York Evening Post, January 29, 1930, 15.

[27] “Dance Recitals in the Coming Week,” New York Evening Post, January 11, 1930, 8.

[28] “Concert Dancers to Benefit from Two Tea Parties,” New York Sun, January 20, 1931, 36.

[29] “Calendar of Recitals,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, January 3, 1932, B16.

[30] “The Dance World,” New York Sun, January 14, 1933, 6.

[31] “New York City Center,” https://www.newyorktheatreguide.com/theatres/new-york-city-center. Accessed October 11, 2019. 

[32] “Dancers Benefit, Dec. 11, at Mecca Temple,” New York Sun, November 21, 1932, 31.

[33] Ibid.

[34] “Noted Musicians Pay Tribute at MacDowell Festival Tonight,” Herald Statesman, [Yonkers, NY]. December 7, 1932, 14.

[35] “Winfield Dancers to Stage Benefit,” Herald Statesman, [Yonkers, NY]. December 7, 1932, 7.

[36] “Dances and Ballets,” New York Evening Post, December 10, 1932, 6S.

[37] Neal, N. D. (1979). Early Television Dance, Dance Scope, 13.

[38] Martin, J. (1932, December 11). The Dance: A Benefit Enlisting Wide Support, New York Times, x4.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Ibid.

[41] “Every Dance Style is Represented at Big Benefit Show,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 12, 1932, M2.

[42] “Social and Personal,” The News-Owl, [Long Island], December 16, 1932, 8.

[43] “Vacation Playground 82 to Hold Outing,” Long Island Daily Press, July 18, 1930, 12.

[44] “Members of Dancing Masters of American Given Tea,” Albany Evening News, August 2, 1930, 3.

[45] “Poetry Week’s Program is Announced,” Nassau Daily Review, [Long Island, NY], May 27, 1931, 4.

[46] “Ted Weidhaas Exhibits at Dancers’ Club,” Pelham Sun, [Pelham, NY], April 15, 1932, 20.

[47] “Theatrical Designer to Show Creations,” Nassau Daily Review, [Long Island, NY], April 9, 1932, 7.

[48] “Chinese Fete,” New York Sun, January 5, 1933, 16.

[49] “Art World Events,” New York Evening Post, April 29, 1933, 9.

[50] “The Old Print Shop, New York City,” Accessed September 26, 2019. http://oldprintshop.com/shop?artist=1197.

[51] “Shakespeare,” Billboard, February 4, 1933, 18.

[52] “Music Events,” New York Sun, January 17, 1931, 7.

[53] “Margaret Severn Dances at Longacre Theater,” New York Sun, January 19, 1931, 30.

[54] “Margaret Severn,” Long Island Daily Star, January 17, 1931, 14.

[55] Vintage News Daily, Mask Dances by Margaret Severn, Accessed July 5, 2020. https://vintagenewsdaily.com/mask-dances-by-margaret-severn/

[56] “The Weird and Wonderful Masks of Wladysaw Teodor Benda,” Accessed September 26, 2019.  https://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_weird_and_wonderful_masks_of_wladysaw_teodor_benda

[57] “Will Open School of Dancing Sponsored by Negro Art Theatre,” Pittsburgh Courier, May 16, 1931, 8.

[58] Neal, N. D. and Harrison, D. (2018, July). “Hemsley Winfield: First African American Modern Dancer Contracted by the Metropolitan Opera,” in the Journal of Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, 40(1), p 137-151. 

[59] “Spring Dance Festival to Help Music School,” New York Sun, May 6, 1933, 15.

[60] Martin, J. (1928, September 2). The Dance: What a Society Can Do For It, New York Times, 90.

[61] Rockmore, F. (1933, May 16). Dance May be Improved, Says Silver-Haired Ruth St. Denis, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, M2.

[62] Ibid.

[63] “Dance Programs,” New York Evening Post, May 5, 1933, 12.

[64] “Junior Group Formed,” New York Evening Post, May 11, 1933, 10.

[65] “Westchester Festival,” New York Evening Post, May 13, 1933, 8.

[66] “Dancers Club in Frolic,” New York Evening Post, May 10, 1933, 4.

[67] “Dancers Club Ball on May 19 at the Waldorf,” New York Evening Post, May 11, 1933, 11.

[68] “Ruth St. Denis Arranges Program,” New York Evening Post, May 9, 1933, 10.

[69] Breuning, M. (1933, May 8). Art World Events, New York Evening Post, 9.

[70] “Dixie Dinner Dance at Waldorf-Astoria,” New York Post, February 21, 1936, 10.

[71] “Anne Simpson in Spanish Dance Program Friday,” East Hampton Star, August 24, 1944, 1.

[72] “Dancing GOP Daughter,” Daily Sentinel [Rome New York], February 1, 1939, 4.

[73] Op. cit. 

[74] Ibid.

[75] “Visions of the Future Spinsters’ Cabaret Subject,” New York Evening Post, December 16, 1932, 8.

[76] “Park Lane Garden Opening, a Charity Fete,” New York Post, April 10, 1936, 10.

[77] “Russian Dance Benefit,” New York Post, February 28, 1942, 7.

[78] Manson, R. (1942, February 27). Going Out Tonight, The Dance, New York Post, 10.

[79] “The Opera,” Syracuse Herald-American, October 15, 1944, 22.

[80] “Opera ‘Carmen’ to Show at Colgate on Friday,” Daily Sentinel [Rome New York], October 12, 1944, 4.

[81] “Anne Simpson in Spanish Dance Program Friday,” East Hampton Star, August 24, 1944, 1.

[82] “In The Galleries News and Comments,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, December 24, 1933, 12B-C.

[83] “Arnold Genthe,” en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arnold_Genthe&oldid=901506612. Accessed May 1, 2019.

[84] Corbin J. (1923, April 24). The Play, New York Times, 24.

[85] Fingk, H. T. (1918, March 16). New York Evening Post, 7.

[86] “New York’s Leading Theatres and Successes,” New York Times, October 7, 1917, 6.

[87] “Mercedes de Cordoba (Profile) 1904” https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/267712. Accessed May 1, 2019.

[88] “Charity Concert at Carnegie Hall,” New York Daily Tribune, December 3, 1901, 5.

[89] “Mercedes Carles Exhibits Paintings,” The Daily Argus, [Mount Vernon], September 10, 1941, 12.

[90] “No Pepper or Spices in Diets of Young Would-Be Dancers,” New York Sun, May 17, 1933, 25.

[91] “How They Started ‘The Dancers Club,’ Albany Times Union, March 19, 1932, 3.  

[92] “Boots and Pillows,” Beacon News, [Beacon, NY]. December 23, 1932, 10.

[93] “Dance May Be Improved, Says Silver-haired Ruth St. Denis,” Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 16, 1933, M2.