Description
This is a rare advertising handbill (flyer) promoting ticket sales for the one-night, Post-Broadway engagement of the dance revue "BAL NEGRE" at the Civic Auditorium in San Jose, California on January 3rd, 1948. (The production opened November 7th, 1946 at the Belasco Theatre in New York City and ran for 52 performances before going on the road.) ..... The revue starred KATHERINE DUNHAM and the Dunham Dancers, Singers and Musicians including EARTHA KITT, LUCILLE ELLIS, LENWOOD MORRIS, VANOYE AIKENS, JAMES ALEXANDER, WILBERT BRADLEY, EDDY CLAY, DOLORES HARPER, JESSE HAWKINS, RICHARDENA JACKSON, GLORIA MITCHELL, EUGENE LEE ROBINSON, OTHELLO STROZIER, DORIS WHITE, TOMMY GOMEZ and ROSLIE KING. The native drummers included UMBERTO CANTO, LaROSA ESTRADA and JULIO MENDEZ ..... Side Note: KATHERINE DUNHAM has been called the "Matriarch of Black Dance." Her unprecedented blend of cultural anthropology with the artistic genre of dance in the early 1930's, produced groundbreaking forms of movement, and in the United States, established black dance as an art form in its own right. Her professional troupe, formed in the early 1940's, was a first for African Americans, and led the way for future notables of dance the likes of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem ..... CREDITS: Costumes designed by EDITH LUTYENS; Orchestra conducted by GILBERTO VALDES; Choreographed and Staged by KATHERINE DUNHAM; Book Directed by MARY HUNTER; Produced by KATHERINE DUNHAM ..... DETAILS: Advertising handbills (heralds) were distributed or inserted into the playbills of other productions to help generate ticket sales for upcoming shows and events. This single page, two-sided handbill measures 6" X 9" inches and includes production credits and a photo of KATHERINE DUNHAM on the front and excerpts from several reviews and a ticket order form on the backside. Includes the original envelope that the flyer was mailed in (last two scanned images) ..... CONDITION: With the exception of two horizontal folds to the flyer and ink marks on the envelope, this rare set is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or dance historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
