This is the grave of Bill Robinson. Born in 1878 in Richmond, Virginia, Luther Robinson grew up in the aftermath of slavery and the failures of Reconstruction. His parents both died of 1884, his dad evidently of a heart attack but we have no idea...
dance
This is the grave of Norma Miller. Born in 1919 in Harlem, MIller was the daughter of a Barbadian immigrant shipyard worker and a mother who worked as a house.
This is the grave of Frankie Manning. Born in 1914 in Jacksonville, Florida, Manning grew up in a dance-loving household. His family was relatively wealthy for the southern Black world.
Dance is not really my thing, but it is of course an important art form so tonight's Film Club selection is this 1951 recording of Balanchine's ballet La Valse, which was brand new at the time of the filming at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in...
It's Margaret Mead day at LGM. You all were surprisingly interested in her grave post! So let's close the day with the film she did with her then husband Gregory.
My professional reading has taken me to Gena Caponi-Tabery's 2003 book Jump for Joy: Jazz, Basketball, and Black Culture in 1930s America. It's literally a history of jumping. An interesting.
This is the grave of Mary Ann Lee. Born in 1823 in Philadelphia, Lee became one of the first American ballet dancers, if the claim is more debatable than her gravestone suggests. After all, her dances were not solo shows. It's not clear to me...
This is the grave of Ruth Page. Born in 1899 in Indianapolis, Page became of the greatest dancers in American history. She made her Broadway debut in 1917, toured South.
This is the grave of Isadora Duncan. Born in 1877 in San Francisco, Duncan grew up very poor. Her father was initially well off, but got busted for some sort.