In 1934, German dancer and choreographer Eugene von Grona (1908-2000) formed the American Negro Ballet Company(ANB). As a child from Berlin, von Grona frequently traveled to the United States and was quickly inspired by black American influence. He was fond of both the cakewalk and minstrel shows.In 1935, Eugene von Grona, who trained under German dancer and choreographer Mary Wigman, began dancing and choreographing ballets for the Roxy Theater. In Upper Manhattan, he submerged himself into the nightclub scene where he looked for black dancers. “I want them black, black, all Negro” von Grona is quoted to have said. He scouted them by promoting the company, offering scholarships, and more. Out of hundreds of applicants, Eugene von Grona chose twenty dancers. Two notable dancers in the ANB were Lavinia Williams and Al Bledger. A pillar of the American Negro Ballet was that Eugene von Grona wanted to illustrate that black Americans could be respectable dance artists aside from the jazz dance genre.On November 21, 1937, the American Negro Ballet, alternatively called the von Grona Ballet, debuted at the Lafayette Theater in Harlem. The company’s showcase was conducted by Dean Dixon. The music featured was a mixture of ballet staples and modern contemporaries of the time. Igor Stravinsky’s “Firebird” was heard along with choreographic pieces set to the scores of W.C. Handy and Duke Ellington. The ANB’s premier was well received by both critics and audience members. Unfortunately, the American Negro Ballet Company struggled to keep afloat and disbanded in 1938. Eugene von Grona revamped the ANB, but branded it as “ Von Grona’s American Swing Ballet”. In 1939, the new and improved company were featured in producer Lew Leslie’s “Blackbirds” as well as other engagements.(Images via Fotocollectie