Hemsley Winfield
Encyclopedia
Hemsley Winfield was an African-American dancer who together with Edna Guy
created the New Negro Art Theater Dance Group.
. Winfield struggled in Yonkers as jobs available to African Americans remained menial. Contrary to the natural inclination to the residents of Yonkers at that time, Winfield pursued a career in the Arts, developing a strong background as an actor, director, stage technician, dancer and eventually a choreographer. With combination of Winfield’s middle class ambition as well as the growing cultural movement of the African Americans at that time, Winfield was able to achieve acclaim by the Art world. Winfield first won his fame as the leading role of Oscar Wilde
’s “Salome”, which he won acclaim to in 1929. Winfield came upon the role as Salome when the female lead of the company fell ill, causing Winfield to dress in drag as the show was staged at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, New York. Winfield, during this time, continued to attend concerts by the great trailblazers of modern dance, who later served as an influence and sponsor for his choreographic work.
, created the “New Negro Art Theater Dance Group,” which was coined for the company’s New York City debut. Winfield served as the head organizer and director of the company. Sponsored by Ruth St. Denis
of the Denis-Shawn School of Dance, Winfield’s concerts soon grew to draw massive crowds. Winfield’s choreographic work during this time fused uniquely German expressionism with African- American themes and spirituals. The leading female dancers of the company included Oille Burgoyne and Edna Guy.
In 1933, the company appeared in the premier of Louis Gruenberg's opera The Emperor Jones
at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City. Winfield took on the role of the witch doctor in the piece. Controversy around the work resulted from the Met's original request to blacken White dancers' faces rather than use black dancers on stage.
In 1934, Hemsley Winfield died of pneumonia shortly before his 27th birthday, leaving with the final words of "We're building a foundation that will make people take black dance seriously."
, a movement referring to the artistic and sociocultural awakening among African Americans during the 1920s and 1930s as a response to the political and economic events resulting from World War 1.
and Ruth St. Denis
, as did many artists of the time. The question of what black dancers should look like, move like, and reflect on was brought to the table by Winfield and his peers was not compltely solved until the 1940s.
Edna Guy
Edna Guy was an African-American modern dance pioneer. Born in 1907 in Summit, New Jersey, Guy lived at a time when blacks and whites did not appear on stage together. At the age of fifteen she begged her mother to take her to a dance concert in Greenwich Village where she watched Modern Dance...
created the New Negro Art Theater Dance Group.
Early years
He was born Osborne Hemsley Winfield to a middle-class, African-American family in Yonkers, New YorkYonkers, New York
Yonkers is the fourth most populous city in the state of New York , and the most populous city in Westchester County, with a population of 195,976...
. Winfield struggled in Yonkers as jobs available to African Americans remained menial. Contrary to the natural inclination to the residents of Yonkers at that time, Winfield pursued a career in the Arts, developing a strong background as an actor, director, stage technician, dancer and eventually a choreographer. With combination of Winfield’s middle class ambition as well as the growing cultural movement of the African Americans at that time, Winfield was able to achieve acclaim by the Art world. Winfield first won his fame as the leading role of Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
’s “Salome”, which he won acclaim to in 1929. Winfield came upon the role as Salome when the female lead of the company fell ill, causing Winfield to dress in drag as the show was staged at the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, New York. Winfield, during this time, continued to attend concerts by the great trailblazers of modern dance, who later served as an influence and sponsor for his choreographic work.
The New Negro Art Theater Dance Group
In 1929, Winfield, along with African American trailblazer for dance Edna GuyEdna Guy
Edna Guy was an African-American modern dance pioneer. Born in 1907 in Summit, New Jersey, Guy lived at a time when blacks and whites did not appear on stage together. At the age of fifteen she begged her mother to take her to a dance concert in Greenwich Village where she watched Modern Dance...
, created the “New Negro Art Theater Dance Group,” which was coined for the company’s New York City debut. Winfield served as the head organizer and director of the company. Sponsored by Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis was an early modern dance pioneer.-Biography:Ruth St. Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program in 1938 which was one of the first dance departments in an American university...
of the Denis-Shawn School of Dance, Winfield’s concerts soon grew to draw massive crowds. Winfield’s choreographic work during this time fused uniquely German expressionism with African- American themes and spirituals. The leading female dancers of the company included Oille Burgoyne and Edna Guy.
In 1933, the company appeared in the premier of Louis Gruenberg's opera The Emperor Jones
The Emperor Jones (opera)
The Emperor Jones is an opera in two acts with a prologue and interlude composed by Louis Gruenberg to an English language libretto adapted by Kathleen De Jaffa and the composer from Eugene O'Neill's 1920 play, The Emperor Jones. It premiered on January 7, 1933 at the Metropolitan Opera in New...
at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York City. Winfield took on the role of the witch doctor in the piece. Controversy around the work resulted from the Met's original request to blacken White dancers' faces rather than use black dancers on stage.
In 1934, Hemsley Winfield died of pneumonia shortly before his 27th birthday, leaving with the final words of "We're building a foundation that will make people take black dance seriously."
Contributions
Winfield’s most influential contribution was his ongoing support of the “new negro,” promoting a rush of African American talent during this period of time. Winfield used the black body in dance and other art forms as raw material in order to show racial configuration within his company to an audience. Winfield projected this “new negro” in support of the Harlem RenaissanceHarlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
, a movement referring to the artistic and sociocultural awakening among African Americans during the 1920s and 1930s as a response to the political and economic events resulting from World War 1.
Response to his work
The majority of supporters of the Harlem Renaissance Movement endorsed the work of Winfield and his counterparts such as Dunham and Edna guy. Critics considered Winfield to be "the initator and chief exponent of Negro concert dancing in the United States." Some, however, did not quite support the message he had been trying to create with his coreographic style. Critic John Martin remarked that he felt as though the "Negro dancers [were] performing material associated with white dancers." This inevitable gap between what the public thought to be suitable for black and white dancers respectively was, in fact, the gap that Winfield spent his career trying to fill. Part of Winfield's struggle both politically and coreographically, naturally, was where he drew inspiration from. Having come from a period of time where the past was predominately filled with white dancers, Winfeild drew much insipiration from Ted ShawnTed Shawn
Ted Shawn , originally Edwin Myers Shawn, was one of the first notable male pioneers of American modern dance. Along with creating Denishawn with former wife Ruth St. Denis he is also responsible for the creation of the well known all-male company Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers...
and Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis was an early modern dance pioneer.-Biography:Ruth St. Denis founded Adelphi University's dance program in 1938 which was one of the first dance departments in an American university...
, as did many artists of the time. The question of what black dancers should look like, move like, and reflect on was brought to the table by Winfield and his peers was not compltely solved until the 1940s.